newRanma
by C. Jones
Summary: Ranma receives a traumatic brain injury that has the potential to change his life and the lives of everyone around him forever.
1. Hurting

(Original Author's Note)  
  
Hello FFMLR. Hi, everybody getting this via the list relays.  
  
It seems that I've run into a bit of a sticking point on 'THE  
CLAN'. It's all scripted out, but I'm having serious problems with  
Chapter 24. I'm unsure of how to craft some of the dialouge and  
action and am feeling like I'm stagnating a bit.  
  
To keep from feeling like I'm spinning my wheels pointlessly, I'm  
going to start posting something I had not intended to for a  
while, and certainly not until after 'THE CLAN' was done.  
  
If you are familiar with my writing purely from 'CLAN', then you  
are in for a shocker. This isn't much like 'Ranma's Apartment'  
either. I would even go so far as to say it has a bit of 'Shoujo'  
tone. I've had some reservations about posting it, but Dave Roeder  
and some of the great guys on FFIRC have been encouraging me to do  
so.  
  
This hasn't been pre-read and other than some thorough spell-  
checking, hasn't been much edited either. All C&C is very much  
appreciated.  
  
So here, in all it's limited glory is a story about what happens  
when the things we take for granted are beaten upside the head,  
and all the things we were afraid to face come falling out for the  
whole world to see.  
  
I hope you like it. It's called:  
  
------------------------------  
newRanma 1: Hurting  
  
by Chris Jones  
------------------------------  
  
Ranma woke to the familiar sound of clanging and banging  
which he had learned to hate so much during his extended stay at  
the Tendou Dojo. Akane was up early and cooking breakfast.  
  
Ranma groaned and turned over, burying himself just as far  
as he could get in his futon. It was true that Akane's cooking  
*had* improved somewhat since he had known her. If she very  
carefully followed instructions, and if he or Kasumi were right  
there to make sure she was behaving, she could usually turn out  
something that was less than toxic.  
  
The banging pans, however, tipped Ranma to the fact that  
Kasumi was probably *not* closely supervising her little sister.  
Worse, one of the things that Akane had definitely not improved on  
was her treatment of the common Grade AA egg. Her 'breakfasts',  
such as they were, should have been outlawed in most of the modern  
world because they constituted cruel and unusual punishment, at  
least according to Ranma.  
  
"Have you seen the cinnamon, Kasumi?" Ranma heard his  
fiancee's voice drift up from the kitchen. "Never mind! This steak  
seasoning will probably work just as well."  
  
Ranma groaned in dread. He really didn't want to be sick.  
  
Sick...  
  
That was the ticket!  
  
Ranma hunkered down in his futon and began to lick his  
palms so that they would be cold and clammy. It was stupid and  
childish, but if it would work in American movies then it would  
probably work for him as well.  
  
"Ranma, it's time to get up for school," Kasumi said,  
knocking on the closed door.  
  
"Nnnnn..." Ranma groaned loudly. Overacting was a Saotome  
gift.  
  
"Ranma-kun?"  
  
"NnnnnNNNN..." he groaned, a little bit of irritation  
entering his voice.  
  
"Ranma-kun. Are you okay?"  
  
"NNNNNNNNN!" Ranma half-bellowed, half-moaned.  
  
Kasumi opened the door and peeked inside to make sure  
Ranma was decent. She came in a little ways and knelt next to the  
youth.  
  
Hunched over in his futon, Ranma groaned dramatically  
again. Kasumi took Ranma's hands and carefully felt his palms.  
"Cold," she noted with concern. "And clammy. Are you feeling  
alright, Ranma-kun?"  
  
"Unnn..." Ranma began to tremble slightly.  
  
"Hmm... Your head doesn't feel warm, does it?" Kasumi  
asked, gently caressing Ranma's forehead. "You're not faking to  
get out of eating Akane's breakfast are you?"  
  
Ranma's eyes popped open in surprise. He grinned nervously  
at Kasumi, who was staring down at him with a calm expression. It  
was as close to a look of disapproval as Kasumi ever got.  
  
"Ranma?"  
  
"Uhhh..." The martial artist began to sweat.  
  
"Hmm... I'm certain you wouldn't do that," Kasumi said,  
putting a finger to her chin.  
  
"What wouldn't the baka do?" Akane asked from the doorway  
of the guest room, a gooey spatula in hand.  
  
Ranma coughed nervously and began to moan even louder.  
  
"I'm certain that Ranma would be more than honest enough  
than to fake being sick so he wouldn't have to eat your cooking,  
Akane! Don't you think?"  
  
Akane's eyes went wide with rage. "He's faking being sick  
so he doesn't have to eat my cooking?!"  
  
"UNNNNNNHHHH!!!!" Ranma moaned in desperation.  
  
"I KNEW IT!!!" Akane screeched, bringing her goop-covered  
egg-turner to bear.  
  
"Unnnh?" Ranma squeaked out.  
  
"Die, Ranma!"  
  
Ranma sighed deeply and leapt to his feet. Pretenses just  
weren't going to be an option today.  
  
"My, Ranma!" Kasumi giggled. "You certainly do run fast  
for a sick person."  
  
By the time Kasumi made it downstairs, Akane and Ranma  
were in the kitchen. Much to her dismay, Akane was trying to pelt  
Ranma with raw eggs, making a horrible mess in the process.  
  
"Oh, come on, Akane! I wasn't eggspecting you to be this  
upset about it!" Ranma cracked.  
  
"That's going too far, Ranma!" Akane screamed. She lifted  
the skillet full of rapidly blackening egg yolk, whipped cream,  
and steak sauce and sent it frisbee style for Ranma's head.  
  
Ranma dodged to one side, leaning as far back as he could  
to avoid the scorched skillet as it passed overhead. The skillet  
slammed into the wall behind him, sending up a spray of ruined egg  
and sauce.  
  
"Ha, tomboy! You'll never-- *whup*!" Ranma's feet went out  
from under him, made slippery from the wasted egg. He fell back.  
  
Akane clenched her teeth at the sight. She had never seen  
Ranma lose control so badly before. It was like watching a car  
crash in slow motion. His arms were windmilling wildly. His feet  
were both rising in the air. With a sickening thud, the side of  
his head impacted the corner of Kasumi's kitchen counter.  
  
Akane gasped, seeing the red mark on the counter.  
  
Ranma twisted and fell to his side with the force of the  
impact. He collapsed on the tile floor limply like a rag doll.  
  
"Ranma?" Akane asked, her voice full of worry.  
  
The martial artist was still, blood from the gash on the  
side of his head beginning to run down across his face.  
  
"Ranma! Talk to me!" Akane cried.  
  
"Wass?" Ranma mumbled after several seconds.  
  
Akane exhaled. "Baka."  
  
Ranma blinked, pushing himself to a sitting position.  
"Nnn.. Stupid tomboy," he complained, wiping egg off his face.  
  
"Creep. You could have at least tasted my breakfast."  
  
"Whatev-- nnn..." Ranma blinked again, getting to his feet  
unsteadily. He staggered once and did his best to regain his  
balance. "Okay."  
  
"Are you okay?" Akane asked.  
  
"Of course I'm okay!" Ranma snapped back angrily. "Jeez,  
Akane. I've taken worse than this. A tomboy like you ain't gonna  
hurt me."  
  
"Get ready for school, you two!" Kasumi advised from the  
doorway of the kitchen.  
  
Ranma nodded, wiping the blood away from his face. He  
probed gingerly at the small cut on the side of his head.  
  
"Are you okay, Ranma-kun?" Kasumi asked. "Do you need to  
see Tofuu-sensei?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm okay. I just need to get cleaned up."  
  
Kasumi grimaced as her sister and her fiancee walked by.  
Ranma's eyes were shining a deep black, ringed by only a tiny  
circle of blue. "Come home if you start feeling unwell, Ranma,"  
Kasumi advised.  
  
"Yeah, sure," Ranma replied, dabbing at the cut. "Stupid  
tomboy..."  
  
"I'm sorry, already!" Akane yelled.  
  
After only a few minutes, Akane and Ranma left. Kasumi had  
the kitchen mostly clean in only a few minutes, so she decided to  
take a break and call Doctor Tofuu with her concerns.  
  
"K-k-kasumi! What a surprise to meet you here, of all  
places!" Tofuu answered the phone.  
  
"Oh, Tofuu-sensei! You big silly. I was wondering if you'd  
come by to see Ranma after school this afternoon. He slipped and  
hit his head on the counter this morning, and I'm worried that he  
may have a bit of a concussion."  
  
"Mmm.." Tofuu said, slipping into a calmer role as  
physician. "Ranma's got a thick skull. He should be okay, but I'll  
come by and check."  
  
* * *  
  
"Are you okay, Ranma?" Akane asked.  
  
"Yeah! Quit worryin' about it, Akane." Ranma said,  
grumbling. He glanced up at the fence, but decided against running  
along it since his balance still felt a little off.  
  
He clenched his eyes shut, trying to ward off the wave of  
nausea currently assailing him. He grimaced, thinking about how  
unfair it was. He hadn't even *eaten* the nasty egg dish, and it  
was still making him sick.  
  
"Ranma?" Akane asked, trying to get his attention.  
"Ranma?"  
  
*splash*  
  
"Wonderful. Just freakin' wonderful." Ranma looked down in  
irritation at the evil little washer woman. The boy-turned-girl  
shook her head sadly and trudged onward. At least the change  
seemed to drive the nausea and lightheadedness away.  
  
"You're leaving a lot of openings today," Akane noted.  
  
"Well, somebody clonked me on the head this morning,"  
Ranma snapped irritably. "Just let it go, Akane."  
  
"All right." Akane exhaled heavily and walked in silence  
the rest of the way to school.  
  
The bell still managed to ring before they got to the  
front gates. Luckily, neither Kunou nor any of the morning morons  
were out.  
  
"You go ahead to class," Ranma prompted. "See if you can  
get us out of bucket duty. I'm gonna go find some hot water."  
  
Akane nodded and sprinted away from the red-head.  
  
Ranma sighed and started to look for a convenient  
restroom. The boys restroom he came across had a large 'Out of  
Order' sign taped to the front door and water was trickling out  
from underneath the door.  
  
"Uhh..."  
  
The nausea was getting worse, and the pain in her head  
pounding, Ranma rationalized that it would be all right if he were  
to just get a cup of warm water from the girl's rest room and come  
back out before she changed. Warily, she pushed the door open.  
  
"Anyone in here?"  
  
Not hearing an answer, Ranma stepped cautiously inside.  
  
The pain was almost blinding. Ranma's stomach lurched  
ominously and she felt a salty, bloody taste in the back of her  
throat. Rather than going to the sink as she first thought to do,  
Ranma instead leaned over the trash can and began to dry heave.  
  
She managed to stand back up without actually vomiting.  
She turned, lurched toward the sink. Upon seeing her own wide-eyed  
expression, Ranma passed out.  
  
* * *  
  
"Is Ranma sick today?" Ukyou asked during the class break.  
  
Akane shook her head. "I don't think so. He got wet on the  
way to school, so he went to find some hot water. I wonder what's  
keeping him?"  
  
* * *  
  
The clothes wouldn't do. Besides being wet and  
uncomfortable, they just didn't weren't very cute. The school  
uniform wasn't a *lot* cuter than the red and black Chinese  
clothes, but it was at least more feminine. She also picked out a  
cute pair of cotton panties to wear instead of those awful boxers,  
but they didn't happen to have a bra in her size.  
  
The clerk at the school store gave her an odd look upon  
checking out, but she didn't care. She ran back to the bathroom to  
change and twirled happily in front of the mirror. She was so  
pretty now! Maybe Akane would lend her a little bit of blusher or  
nail polish.  
  
"Wouldn't that be cute?" she squealed, sweetly pulling her  
braided pigtail over one shoulder.  
  
Ignoring the little bit of nausea and dizziness that still  
plagued her, she made her way back to the hallways and tried to  
look for her classroom. Instead, she came across a blue-robed  
kendoist doing bucket duty in front of one of the junior  
classrooms.  
  
"Pigtailed girl!" Kunou shouted. "Verily, you have come to  
comfort me in my time of distress!"  
  
"Hiieee, Kunou-sempai," the pigtailed girl replied. She  
smiled happily at the kendoist's greeting.  
  
Kunou dropped his buckets with a splash and a noisy  
clatter and rushed towards the pigtailed girl, his arms  
outstretched to embrace her.  
  
"Your garments have changed!" Kunou exclaimed, staring  
into the girl's glassy eyes. "No longer are you forced to wear the  
rude peasant garments Saotome favors. What has brought about this  
most wondrous metamorphosis, my love?"  
  
"Those other clothes were icky, Kunou-sempai," she  
explained. "I got some new ones at the school store. Do you think  
I'm cute?"  
  
Inside her, the nauseous feeling began to rise again. She  
crushed it down, and snuggled into Kunou's embrace, despite the  
feeling that something was horribly, catastrophically wrong.  
  
"Let's get away from here, Sempai," the girl suggested.  
"My tummy's upset, and I want to get outside!"  
  
Kunou's visage appeared troubled for a second. "Skip  
school?" he asked incredulously. "My pigtailed angel wants me to  
cut class? Play hooky? Commit truancy?"  
  
"Pretty-please?" she begged, standing on the tiptoes of  
one foot to stare directly into Kunou's eyes.  
  
Kunou's resolve had the chance of a Twinky at a Weight-  
watcher's convention. In seconds, he was running for the entrance  
of the school, dragging the pigtailed girl behind him.  
  
"Wai! Wai!" she shouted in glee, lifted off her feet by  
Kunou's rapid flight from the confines of the school.  
  
"Let us away to my mansion, my dearest beauty!" Kunou  
exclaimed.  
  
"Hurry, Sempai!" the pigtailed girl said. "Faster!  
Faster!"  
  
Inside, she struggled to keep from vomiting.  
  
* * *  
  
"Ranma and I split up when we first got here," Akane  
explained over the phone, "but then I lost track of him. He hasn't  
shown up for first or second period."  
  
"He's not here," Kasumi said. "Perhaps he decided to come  
home and got hungry on the way?" she suggested in a far-off  
manner.  
  
"Maybe," Akane admitted. It was far-fetched, but knowing  
Ranma, it was entirely possible. "I just know he decided to stop  
at Shampoo's for a snack!" Akane complained. "And after he refused  
to eat the perfectly good breakfast I made for him!"  
  
"Where airen, violent girl?" Shampoo asked.  
  
Akane turned, her hands still on the phone. Behind her,  
Shampoo stood with her ramen carrying case balanced lightly on two  
fingers."  
  
"You haven't seen him either?" Akane asked, worry  
beginning to enter her voice.  
  
"Shampoo was going to surprise with big mid-morning  
snack," the purple-haired girl said. "But airen not in classroom.  
Is Akane hiding Ranma somewhere," Shampoo asked nervously, seeing  
the worried expression on her rival's face.  
  
Akane shook her head. "I haven't seen him since we first  
got here. Maybe we should go talk to my sister. She may know  
someone who saw him leave."  
  
* * *  
  
"Sugoi!" the pigtailed girl exclaimed upon seeing the vast  
home theater system. "This is really awesome, Sempai! I've never  
seen a television that big before!"  
  
"Verily! The purses of house Kunou know no bounds when the  
viewing pleasure of my loves is at stake. Why, just yesterday I  
sat here watching Samurai Theater, when I realized just how  
important it was to me that I share this incredible experience  
with you and--"  
  
"You're rambling, Sempai," the pigtailed-girl giggled.  
  
Kunou clamped his mouth shut, a slightly embarrassed  
expression decorating his face.  
  
"Why don't you put on something good," the pigtailed-girl  
said, "like Dragonball. I'll go get freshened up and we can watch  
together for as long as you like!"  
  
"Heeeee..." Kunou murmured, unable to speak as the girl  
nuzzeled at his broad chest.  
  
She skipped off in search of a bathroom. Seeing her turn  
the corner of a hallway, Kunou made a squeaking noise and dove  
towards the video cabinet beneath the giant television. He pulled  
out his prized Dragonball laserdisc collection and started the  
player.  
  
"Forsooth, I would assume that one so lovely as the  
pigtailed-girl would choose to gaze upon a film more involved in  
romance and plot," he said, making sure that the remote worked  
properly. "A 'chick-flick' as it were. If the pigtailed Venus  
desires to watch Dragonball, however, who am I to deny her  
wishes?"  
  
The pigtailed girl finally found a lavish bathroom among  
the endless guest rooms. She was starting to get a little dizzy  
and light headed, but sat down over the western style basin and  
relieved herself. She checked her face in the mirror and wished  
she had some makeup. It was then that the second wave of nausea  
hit.  
  
Back in the viewing room, Kunou's head popped up at the  
tearing, wet, wretching sound.  
  
"Pigtailed-girl?"  
  
After a few minutes, he heard the water begin to run, and  
a low gargling sound, as if the girl was washing out her mouth.  
  
He was about to rise and check on her, but the pigtailed  
girl appeared back in the hallway before he could move. She wiped  
her mouth once and skipped back over to the sofa where Kunou sat.  
  
"Are you quite well, my vision of lovliness?" Kunou asked  
with some concern in his voice.  
  
"I was all icky-sicky, but I'm okay now," the pigtailed-  
girl replied in a sing-song voice. "I'm cold now. Would you hold  
me, Kunou-sempai?"  
  
Kunou began to tremble in excitement despite the girl's  
admission of illness. He couldn't answer, but reached out for the  
girl anyway. She giggled and collapsed into his arms, her  
luminous, glassy eyes staring up lovingly at him.  
  
* * *  
  
"No, I haven't seen him either," Nabiki said. "But Kunou-  
chan went missing after first period. Maybe they went somewhere to  
fight."  
  
"I rather doubt it," Ukyou said. "I think Ran-chan would  
rather avoid Kunou than pick fights with him."  
  
"I really don't think he was feeling well," Akane  
interjected in a worried tone. "Should we call the police?"  
  
"After he's only been missing a few hours?" Nabiki said.  
"This *is* Ranma we're talking about.  
  
"Shampoo have bad feeling," the amazon said. "Best we find  
Ranma now."  
  
"I'll come too!" Akane said.  
  
"And skip class?" Nabiki asked.  
  
"This *is* Ranma we're talking about," Akane replied  
sarcastically.  
  
"I'll come too," Ukyou agreed.  
  
Nabiki rolled her eyes. "Alright. I'll cover for you,  
*just* this once. And all of you owe me big favors."  
  
The three girls nodded and took off down the hallway.  
  
After a few seconds, Nabiki went back inside her classroom  
and sat down next to a friend.  
  
"Ranma skipped school today," she said. "He usually comes,  
even if he sleeps through class all day."  
  
"You want me to keep an eye out, boss?" The girl asked.  
  
Nabiki nodded. "Something's up, and I don't know what it  
is yet."  
  
* * *  
  
It certainly wasn't Kunou's first kiss, but as the  
trembling pigtailed-girl pressed her lips to his cheek, he found  
it was the one he treasured most.  
  
"Oh, pigtailed-girl," Kunou whispered as high-powered  
martial arts played out on the screen in front of the pair.  
  
"Kunou-sempai," she said, tightening her embrace.  
  
He wondered if he was shaking as badly as the pigtailed  
girl as he gently wrapped his arm around her shoulders.  
  
He turned, moving his face closer to hers. Her vacant  
smile gave him no reason for concern, so he leaned in and pushed  
his lips to hers.  
  
She clumsily returned the kiss with trembling lips.  
  
With his arms around her back, Kunou leaned her back and  
began to let his lips roam up and down her neck. He took her  
increased shaking as a sign of her arousal.  
  
"Kunou-sempai," she whispered, struggling to move out from  
under him. Anxiously, he stood, acutely aware of his own desire  
for her.  
  
Weakly, the girl stood. She clutched at her head.  
  
"Pigtailed-girl," Kunou said, wondering what was wrong.  
"Are you okay?"  
  
She cried once and fell over. Kunou blinked in surprise.  
  
"Pigtailed-girl?"  
  
Her blouse was only about half-way buttoned, revealing a  
generous amount of cleavage above the top of her school dress.  
Likewise, her short skirt had flared out as she fell and settled  
up around her waist, displaying her white cotton panties for him  
to gaze upon in wonder.  
  
Her body was so close to him! She was flaunting herself so  
daringly. He kneeled in front of her, his hand reaching out almost  
of its own accord to gently brush her exposed thigh.  
  
Why did this feel so wrong?  
  
"Pigtailed-girl?" he asked again.  
  
She made no motion.  
  
Kunou's hand withdrew, just before he allowed it to brush  
against the thin, almost translucent fabric of her panties.  
  
He shifted his position and shook her shoulders slightly.  
  
"Pigtailed-girl. Wake up. Please?"  
  
Kunou clenched his teeth and began to pat her face. The  
girl's eyelids didn't even flutter.  
  
Her head slumped to one side as he let her go. Blood began  
to run freely from one nostril.  
  
Kunou exhaled heavily and staggered to his feet. His  
body's arousal quickly giving way to worry and dread, he lurched  
from the room and grabbed a phone in the hallway.  
  
"Emergency services," a polite, feminine voice asked on  
the other end after Kunou dialed the appropriate numbers. "How may  
I help you?"  
  
"You must send an ambulance at once!" Kunou demanded. "The  
pigtailed-girl... my guest, she's dying!"  
  
-----  
  
~to be continued...  
  
  
Ranma and his friends belong to Rumiko Takahashi. They're used  
here without permission. 


	2. Cutting

Ranma and his friends belong to Rumiko Takahashi. They're used  
here without permission.  
  
------------------------------  
newRanma 2: Cutting  
  
by Chris Jones  
------------------------------  
  
It was late evening at Nerima General when Doctor Tofuu  
walked into the waiting room, leading a female surgeon behind him.  
  
Akane, Nabiki, Kasumi and Soun were waiting as well as  
Genma and Nodoka.  
  
Careful to keep his eyes away from Kasumi, Tofuu gestured  
to the surgeon. "This is Doctor Najima. She's the neurosurgeon  
here responsible for Ranma's case."  
  
Nodoka was about to speak, but Akane cut her off. "Is  
Ranma okay?" she asked in an urgent tone.  
  
"Ranma is conscious and alert," Doctor Najima stated.  
"He's in ICU right now, but we should be able move him to a  
private room later tomorrow."  
  
"What happened to my son?" Nodoka asked.  
  
Doctor Najima bit her lip slightly. "Ranma has had what we  
call, a minor 'cranial accident'."  
  
"Huh?" Akane asked, not understanding the phrasing. "I  
know... I know it was an accident," she replied guiltily, "But  
can't you be any more specific?"  
  
"'Accident' is polite language for 'hemmorage', Akane,"  
Nabiki informed her.  
  
"WHAT?!?" Akane yelled.  
  
"Like Najima-sensei said," Tofuu replied. "It's *very*  
minor. He had a brief hallucinatory episode before Kunou-san  
called the ambulance, but that has apparently passed. He's  
conscious and lucid right now. He's even grumpy because I won't  
release him from the hospital."  
  
"So why won't you release him?" Nabiki asked suspiciously.  
  
Tofuu bit his lip. "It's normal procedure to keep a  
patient who's had the kind of symptoms Ranma has under observation  
for at least 96 hours. I could still release him, but I feel that  
the real problem lies in the injury's location... and the real  
cause for Ranma's hallucination this morning."  
  
"I don't understand, Doctor Tofuu," Akane admitted.  
  
Najima unrolled the bundle she was carrying. It turned out  
to be a chart displaying side view of a human skull and brain in  
shades of x-ray gray. It was very obviously a computer printout,  
and just as obviously freshly printed.  
  
"This is the initial cranial x-ray we took of Mr. Saotome  
before I scheduled a CAT-scan," she explained to the rest of the  
group. She took out a marker and circled an area near the bottom  
center of the gray shape of Ranma's skull.  
  
She pointed to the red circle, and touched her fingernail  
to a dark patch inside it. "And this is what's causing Mr.  
Saotome's problems. He sustained a fairly major concussion here  
this morning. His eardrum tore from the force of the blow. What is  
really hurting him, however, is the fact that the concussion  
apparently aggravated an old injury at the same location. That's  
what this dark area is."  
  
"Ranma has a head like a rock," Soun wondered aloud. "What  
could do such a thing to him?"  
  
"I believe it's a childhood injury," Najima commented. She  
pointed to the dark area again, noting some faint lines in the  
image. "From these fractures, I believe that he was perhaps eight  
or nine years old when it happened. Currently, there's a sizable  
blood clot between Ranma's brain and the membrane that protects it  
from the rest of the world."  
  
All but two pairs of eyes turned suspiciously toward  
Genma. Impassively, he said nothing, but began to sweat, nervous  
perspiration pouring down his face.  
  
"What... will happen to Ranma," Genma asked hesitatingly.  
  
"Not a lot, unless the injury is reaggravated," Najima  
stated.  
  
"Which probably won't happen, considering Ranma's thick  
skull and his conditioning," Tofuu added. "It's a small wonder  
that this did anything. Medically, it's a fluke."  
  
Najima nodded in agreement. "The disorientation and nausea  
he felt earlier is gone. He is feeling slight numbness in one of  
his legs, but it's fading, meaning that the bleeding has almost  
certainly already stopped." she continued. "What really worries me  
is this." Again, she traced another one of the dark lines. "The  
old clot... here... puts pressure on a part of the brain that we  
believe affects personality. That's most likely why he was  
behaving so oddly just after the injury."  
  
"Ranma's gonna go beserk and kill us all," Nabiki  
theorized dryly.  
  
"Not likely," Tofuu pulled at his collar slightly. "This  
area in particular is responsible for... *ahem*... sexual...  
response."  
  
"What does this mean for my son?" Nodoka asked seriously.  
  
"It means that he has very little concept of his own  
sexuality," Najima answered in a matter-of-fact tone. "We've done  
a preliminary verification with the resident psychologist," she  
explained, "and we'd like to do further follow up exams before we  
make any real decisions, but it appears that, while the rest of  
Ranma's body and mind are mature, he has the sexual mentality of a  
much younger boy.  
  
Nabiki couldn't help but grin in mirth. "So... Ranma and  
Akane have so much trouble because Ranma still thinks 'girls are  
icky'?!"  
  
"Not in so many words," Najima responded reluctantly.  
"We're starting to get into territory that really should be  
discussed only with Ranma's immediate family."  
  
"Akane's his fiancee," Nabiki countered.  
  
"And... the Tendous are almost more family to Ranma than I  
am," Nodoka admitted sadly.  
  
Soun whispered briefly in Kasumi's ear. She smiled  
politely and helped her father to drag a protesting Nabiki outside  
the waiting room.  
  
"Kasumi! Father!!"  
  
"They'll inform us later, Nabiki," Kasumi said. "We really  
don't want to overhear Ranma's secrets, do we?"  
  
Once the door had closed leaving a smaller group inside,  
Najima continued.  
  
"From the psychological examination, we know that Ranma's  
body responds normally to sexual stimuli, but in many cases his  
brain doesn't know how to handle it. The nerve clusters don't get  
enough blood and don't emit the right amounts of neurotransmitters  
due to the pressure exerted by the clot. Since the synapses are  
still functioning to some degree, the functions have not migrated,  
as we see many other brain functions do in the event of neural  
damage." Seeing that she was getting pretty far ahead of the  
group, the neurosurgeon summarized. "Ranma's arranged engagement  
affects him like it would a much younger boy. He understands the  
most basic mechanics of an adult relationship, but not much else.  
Due to his injury, romance, love, and sex are topics he just  
simply can't comprehend like any other young man his age."  
  
Akane fell back in her chair, flabbergasted by the  
statement.  
  
"And all this time, I thought he was just being stubborn,"  
Genma commented. "To think--OOF!"  
  
He was cut off violently by Nodoka's elbow in his gut. "Be  
quiet husband, and let the doctor continue!" She turned back to  
the conversation, gesturing for the doctor to continue. "What is  
the prognosis for my son?"  
  
"Like we said," Tofuu answered. "We can do nothing, and  
Ranma will likely live out his life with no further incident.  
However, he will probably have extreme difficulty with his  
arranged marriage. He'll probably have difficulty functioning in  
*any* sort of sexual role. Lover, husband... or even father to his  
children."  
  
Nodoka exhaled noisily. Her expression slowly contorted  
into a mask of loss and grief. "Well, Genma," she whispered. "You  
have your perfect martial artist. We can be sure he will never  
think about anything *but* the art. Are you happy now?"  
  
Genma hung his head, causing expressions of concern to  
grow on both doctors' faces.  
  
"What... what if you treat Ranma?" Akane asked quietly.  
  
"If we remove the clot," Najima began. "It would almost  
certainly allow that portion of Ranma's brain to begin to function  
normally. I don't think there's any damage there... just  
inactivity."  
  
"The procedure also has the potential to change his  
personality dramatically," Tofuu finished. "Any kind of brain  
surgery does, really. In this case it's almost assured because of  
the problem we're trying to solve. The Ranma we know won't 'die'  
per se, but his interests, likes, tastes, and behaviors may change  
radically over a short time." Tofuu cleared his throat. "In my  
opinion, this will be giving Ranma a chance to achieve potential  
he was previously unable to. The ability to love and be aroused  
are something we all take for granted, but Ranma has only the  
faintest glimmerings of these abilities. He will likely need to  
spend several hours each week with a behavioral specialist for the  
first year or so, just to make sure that he develops normally once  
he does have those abilities."  
  
"There's also the matter of Ranma's..." Najima coughed  
slightly, an air of unease about her. "Shape-changing abilities.  
Frankly, I didn't believe in the... the... uhm... 'curse' until it  
was demonstrated, and I examined CAT-scans of his... her... er...  
uhh..."  
  
"Ranma's brain," Tofuu finished for the uncomfortable  
doctor. "The pressure exerted by the blood clot is slightly less  
when he's female due the the shape of his skull. Quite frankly, I  
believe that Ranma has developed more female sexuality than he has  
male sexuality. We have no idea what kind of affects that will  
have on him."  
  
Visions of Ranma in girls' clothing assailed Akane. All  
the times he used his curse to get free food... to pacify or bribe  
Kunou... to deceive his mother...  
  
Akane clenched her teeth. Ranma *swore* by his manliness,  
and yet, sometimes Ranma acted like more of a woman than Akane  
was. Was this the reason why? Was it *easier* for Ranma to be a  
girl than a a man?  
  
She thought back on the time when Ranma hit his head and  
was confused so badly that he thought he really was a woman. The  
thoughts disgusted and terrified Akane. Worse, it made Akane  
disgusted at her self for the way she remembered treating him and  
the way it made her feel about him and herself. She hated herself  
because of the way Ranma's actions confused her and left her so  
uncertain.  
  
Akane couldn't decide if it wasn't better to let him stay  
as he was or risk the alternative.  
  
"This has happened before," she admitted.  
  
"That's right, isn't it," Genma exclaimed. Nodoka's  
eyebrows lifted in dreadful curiosity.  
  
"Oh?" Najima asked. "Please explain."  
  
Nodoka looked on in surprise.  
  
Stammering in guilt, Akane recounted the events she had  
been thinking about. She hit Ranma, causing him to hit his head on  
a rock in the koi pond behind the Tendou home. Until another blow  
had somehow 'righted' him a day later, Ranma firmly believed he  
was a girl cursed to become a boy.  
  
"I have to reassess my diagnosis, then," Najima said. "If  
it has happened before, we can't call this an isolated incident.  
It's probable that Ranma will have to suffer this same problem in  
the future. We'll have to conduct further tests, but I believe it  
would be in Ranma's best interests to remove the clot.  
  
Hearing a choked sob from Nodoka, Akane realized that  
there were tears standing in her own eyes. She looked up to see  
that Genma's face was wet as well.  
  
"It must be Ranma's decision," she stated finally.  
  
Everyone in the room nodded in agreement.  
  
* * *  
  
Outside the private waiting room, Kunou, Shampoo and Ukyou  
waited for news.  
  
"What of the pigtailed-girl!" Kunou demanded as soon as  
Nabiki, Kasumi, and Soun appeared. Both Shampoo and Ukyou's faces  
were alight with concern for their beloved.  
  
Nabiki quickly related what she knew of Ranma's injury,  
leaving out some of the more specific details. Kunou looked  
confused, but Nabiki suspected that it was because he refused to  
understand why she was talking about Ranma instead of the  
'pigtailed-girl'.  
  
Shampoo frequently stopped her and asked her to explain  
some of the medical terminology.  
  
After the explanation, Kasumi patiently sat down with the  
amazon and explained Ranma's injury in detail using much simpler  
wording. Kasumi even threw a phrase or two of high-school Mandarin  
into the mix for Shampoo's benefit.  
  
After almost fifteen minutes, Genma, Nodoka and Akane came  
out of the private waiting room. The other girls glared at Akane  
for being allowed in when they were not, but the youngest Tendou  
made no reaction. Instead, she began to sob guiltily and ran out  
of the room.  
  
"Akane think is her fault," Shampoo said quietly.  
  
Kasumi nodded.  
  
"In all likelihood," Genma admitted in a quiet tone, "I  
think I remember the original injury. It was a few weeks before we  
left for China. I was throwing old wooden railroad ties at the boy  
to test his reflexes. One hit him and knocked him out. I didn't  
think anything of it at the time since he had been knocked out so  
many times before."  
  
"It's a wonder you didn't crush his skull," Ukyou sniped.  
She turned and stormed after Akane.  
  
"Shampoo talk to girl too," she said, rising from her seat  
next to Kasumi. "Injury is injury. Akane no understand that," she  
said, unsure of her words.  
  
* * *  
  
The next day, as Ranma lay in the hospital bed, he  
realized that he wasn't really sure what Tofuu was talking about  
when he said that Ranma was 'inhibited'. Genma and Nodoka both  
tried to explain it to him, but they stumbled over their words. In  
the end, their stifled, uncomfortable speech had been just as  
incomprehensible as Toufuu's medical jargon. All Ranma knew was  
that his memories of what took place the previous day disgusted  
him.  
  
First there were vague memories of Kunou. Ranma wasn't  
certain, but he was pretty sure he had kissed the upperclassman.  
GYAH! Then, once he regained consciousness at the hospital, there  
were all sorts of embarrassing questions the doctors and nurses  
asked him. Ranma wasn't sure what made him more embarrassed, the  
intensely personal and explicit nature of the questions or the  
fact that he didn't know how to answer most of them.  
  
In the end, it was sweet, gentle, Kasumi who had quietly  
and patiently explained that the blood clot in Ranma's head could  
cause worse and worse problems for him and his relationship with  
Akane. Ranma would never be as mature as he wanted to be or as  
mature as Akane needed him to be without the surgery.  
  
He was sure as hell damned if he was ever going to kiss  
*Kunou* again!  
  
There really was no choice. Ranma just didn't like the  
consequences.  
  
The tests begun a day later. There were a battery of  
psychological, emotional, and physical tests. Ranma realized that  
he was badly mistaken if he thought that he would never be so  
humiliated as he was by the first round of questions. Again, he  
was unable to answer most of the questions. He didn't even know  
what some of the things they asked him meant.  
  
The physical tests were only a degree less humiliating,  
but Ranma bore up with determination, if not grace.  
  
At the end of the third day, Cologne visited him.  
  
"Hello, Son-in-law."  
  
"Hey, Granny," Ranma answered restlessly, sitting on the  
side of his bed. He had been confined to his hospital room for  
almost three days and wanted to move around. Worse, preparations  
for the surgery were in full swing. He had not been allowed to eat  
for more than a day and the left side of his head had been shaved.  
They even cut off his pigtail despite his protests.  
  
Hopping over to the stand next to the uncomfortable bed,  
Cologne took a few minutes to conduct her own exam of the boy. It  
consisted mostly of staring deeply into Ranma's dark eyes and  
examining his aura.  
  
Ranma bore up with no comment.  
  
"I understand you're going into surgery tomorrow."  
  
Ranma nodded grimly. "Yeah, I guess you heard."  
  
Cologne nodded. "Well, I have made some inquiries. A weak-  
brained man is no good for Shampoo, you understand."  
  
Ranma laughed mockingly and leaned against the back of his  
reclined bed. "Tell me somethin' I ain't heard yet."  
  
"There is a certain small degree of danger to Jusenkyou  
cursed victims whenever a bone is broken," Cologne said seriously.  
"The bones can shift during the change and cause problems."  
  
Ranma nodded seriously, an interested expression on his  
face.  
  
"Usually the risk is so slight, I don't concern myself  
with it, but in your case, where your skull will actually be cut,  
there may be a problem with the bone buckling during your change.  
Worse, there may be gaps, allowing you to become infected."  
  
"Wonderful," Ranma sighed and covered his face. "One more  
damn thing to worry about."  
  
"That's why I brought this."  
  
Ranma looked up at the item Cologne had produced. He  
couldn't help but hiss in anger when he saw the same ladle that  
Herb had once used to lock him in his girl-form.  
  
"Unfortunately, I don't know of any way to lock you in  
your uncursed form," Cologne said, aware of Ranma's discomfort.  
"I've already discussed it with young Tofuu-sensei, and he agrees  
with me. Of course, after you heal, I'll change you back with the  
Kaisufuu."  
  
"After I marry, Shampoo, right?"  
  
Cologne chuckled. "I gave you the phoenix pill, didn't I?"  
  
"Eventually," Ranma sniped.  
  
Cologne reached out and poured a small measure of water  
over Ranma's head, changing her. Ranma shuddered and sighed at  
length. She crossed her arms over her chest and stared at the  
wall.  
  
"I'm sorry, Ranma," Cologne said honestly. "Tofuu says  
that the bone will be completely knit after twelve weeks. Come by  
the Nekohanten, and I'll change you back. I'll have some ramen  
waiting for you."  
  
Cologne waited for an answer, but none came. Eventually,  
she turned to go.  
  
Just before she got to the door, she heard Ranma begin to  
whisper. "Thanks, old ghoul."  
  
"I'm not completely perverse," the woman said before  
stepping outside.  
  
* * *  
  
Akane nuzzled P-chan protectively once before she stepped  
into the dojo. It was more for her own comfort than his, but she  
could tell that the little pig was concerned. It was almost as if  
he understood that Ranma had been hurt and was facing surgery.  
  
Taking one last deep breath, she slid the door open and  
stepped into the dojo. Inside were almost all of her friends and  
rivals, including many people from Furinkan High and the  
surrounding area. Ranma's parents, her own family, and even  
Cologne was there. Tatewaki and Kodachi Kunou stood together on  
one side and Mousse, Shampoo and Ukyou stood at the very front of  
the group.  
  
She was a little worried that Ryouga hadn't shown up at  
her invitation, but she was confident she could probably talk to  
him before he discovered Ranma in his delicate condition.  
  
"As you may already know," Akane said hesitatingly, "Ranma  
has been in the hospital for the last few days"  
  
"Get on with story, violent girl!" Shampoo catcalled. "We  
already know this part."  
  
Akane glared, but held her tongue. She spent several  
minutes explaining the nature of Ranma's injury and the upcoming  
surgery, without going into the effects of the injury itself.  
  
"And because he's going to have brain surgery and will be  
in a very delicate state, I'm going to be blunt. I've got Dr.  
Tofuu's ear right now, and he has complete authority over Ranma.  
Unless each and every one of you swears not to fight with Ranma  
for the next three months, I'll get Tofuu to confine him to the  
hospital with only family visitors.  
  
"THAT NO FAIR!" Shampoo yelled in outrage.  
  
Cologne hopped up to the front of the dojo. "And I will  
assist her," She stated, turning to the crowd. "A head injury so  
soon after such a delicate procedure could easily maim or kill my  
son-in-law until he recovers fully. If anyone wants to hurt or  
fight with Ranma before he is healed, they must first go through  
me."  
  
"Aiyah..."  
  
"But what of the beauteous pigtailed girl!?" Kunou  
demanded in righteous ire. "Will not the villain Saotome molest  
her in a most unwholesome manner whilst they abide in yon medical  
facility?"  
  
Akane shook her head in disgust. Trust Kunou to complicate  
the matter with his stupidity.  
  
"The pigtailed girl is going to have brain surgery too. If  
you try to catch her too hard you might cripple her," Akane  
warned.  
  
Kunou lurched back, the confusion obvious on his face.  
  
"You can keep your filthy mitts of my darling Ranma-sama  
as well, Brother!" Kodachi threatened.  
  
"But... But how could my tender mercies injure such a  
wondrously healthy creature? Was it not my hand that called for  
medical attention and saved her from certain death?"  
  
"Let me spell it out, Kunou-chan," Nabiki called in from  
the doorway of the dojo. "The pigtailed girl is going to have  
BRAIN SURGERY. Part of her SKULL will be removed so that the  
doctors can remove a BLOOD CLOT from her BRAIN. Maybe you should  
talk to the doctors as well," she mused. "At any rate, if you  
cause the pigtailed girl to overexert herself before her BRAIN and  
SKULL are fully healed, the only pigtailed girl you'll ever get to  
spend time with ever again will be a VEGETABLE who sits in a  
WHEELCHAIR all day and DROOLS all over herself," she drove her  
message home. "I don't know. Maybe you'd like that."  
  
Kunou swayed, the disgust and fear obvious on his face.  
  
"While Nabiki is being blunt for Kunou-sempai's sake,"  
Akane seconded, "Let me say again how real the risk is. No  
bonborri, no spatulas, no bokkens, no blunt instruments, and no  
fighting what so ever!"  
  
"What about you, Akane?" Ukyou asked. "Do all these rules  
apply to you, too?"  
  
Akane looked down at the floor, her face reddening in  
embarrassment.  
  
"It seems," Nabiki cut in, "that the good Doctor Tofuu  
confiscated Akane's mallet the first time she tried to visit Ranma  
at the hospital."  
  
* * *  
  
Blackness. Nothingness. No cares. No worries. No being.  
  
A faint light. A sting. Coldness.  
  
A pair of glasses. Muffled sound.  
  
Ranma blinked, and stared into the mirror underneath her.  
Doctor Tofuu's face was reflected upside down. He seemed to be  
talking to her from behind the blue surgical mask, but Ranma  
couldn't hear.  
  
Strangely, she didn't yet care.  
  
She could feel a slight pressure on her scalp as the  
surgeons adjusted the brace that held her head still. There was a  
slight breeze and...  
  
Something was wrong. Something was horribly wrong. There  
was a part of her scalp that she couldn't feel, except for the  
cold air blowing across...  
  
Ranma gulped, dread beginning to creep in on her emotional  
numbness.  
  
"Doctor, heart rate is increasing. We're at 130 over 90."  
  
"It's okay, Ranma-chan," she heard her mother's voice call  
out.  
  
"Calm down, Ranma," Tofuu urged. Ranma could hear him more  
clearly now that the anesthesia was wearing off. Everything was  
still horribly off, however. Everything seemed to be happening too  
slow and all the voices around her were stretched and distorted.  
  
She swallowed again, and willed her heart to slow. She  
could hear the pace of the constant 'beep-beep-beep' from the  
heart monitor slow in the background. They had told her about this  
after all the interminable days of tests. They had made sure she  
was ready. Ranma had to stay calm and in control, regardless of  
the fact that her skull was cut open and her brain was hanging out  
and the surgeons had their hands...  
  
"Soul of ice," Ranma whispered, doing her best to stay  
calm.  
  
"That's right," Tofuu said in a calming voice.  
"Everything's going just according to plan. We're about to begin  
operating on the clot, Ranma."  
  
"Okay," Ranma acknowledged, unable to nod. She desperately  
clung to Tofuu's image hanging upside down below her.  
  
"Okay, Ranma," Tofuu said. "I need you to start counting  
from ten down to one. Okay?"  
  
"Ten, Nine..."  
  
There was a little pressure and a jarring sensation. Ranma  
felt, rather than heard, the scrape of metal as a something  
brushed the exposed, cut bone of her skull.  
  
"E-eight, seven, six, five...  
  
"There it is," she heard Najima's voice say. "Forceps.  
Probe..."  
  
"Four, thr--"  
  
THREEeeTHREE333THReethreeTHREETHREEEEETHREEE3333TTHR33Three33thr  
e3THT333Threeeee333eeThr3333333333333THReethr33EEEETHREEeeTHREE3  
33THReethreeTHREETHREEEEETHREEE3333TTHR33Three33thre3THT333Three  
eee333eeThr3333333333333THReethr33EEEETHREEeeTHREE333THReethreeT  
HREETHREEEEETHREEE3333TTHR33Three33thre3THT333Threeeee333eeThr33  
33333333333THReethr33EEEETHREEeeTHREE333THReethreeTHREETHREEEEET  
HREEE3333TTHR33Three33thre3THT333Threeeee333eeThr3333333333333TH  
Reethr33EEEETHREEeeTHREE333THReethreeTHREETHREEEEETHREEE3333TTHR  
33Three33thre3THT333Threeeee333eeThr3333333333333THReethr33EEEEe  
  
"--ee," Ranma gasped. Her heart began to pound and sweat  
began to pour down her face. She could hear the ECG beeping away  
wildly.  
  
"Keep going," Tofuu urged.  
  
"T-t-two, one, zero?" Ranma said in a tone that asked if  
it was all over yet.  
  
"Okay, now I need you to count the other way, Ranma.  
Ready?"  
  
"One, two," Ranma gulped, having had quite enough of the  
number 'three' for one day."Four, five, six.."  
  
"Wonderful," Najima's voice said from above her. Ranma  
felt a drop of moisture roll down the side of her face.  
  
"Doctor?" Tofuu asked.  
  
"It came away in a single piece," Najima-sensei explained.  
There are a few... there... and there.... Cauterize that, please."  
  
"It's mostly over now, Ranma." Tofuu explained in a happy  
tone.  
  
Ranma felt her mother's hand squeeze her own. She breathed  
a sigh of relief and waited for the anaesthesia to claim her  
again.  
  
* * *  
  
The group sat silently in the waiting room. The only  
sounds that permeated the room were the gentle click of Kasumi's  
knitting needles and the almost inaudible hiss of Nabiki's  
headphones.  
  
"Your move," Soun stated calmly, looking over the portable  
shogi board.  
  
Genma cocked his head impassively, and slid a piece one  
space across the board.  
  
"You're not playing up to par today, Saotome," Soun  
accused quietly.  
  
"Hmmm..."  
  
A door at the end of the waiting room opened. Almost  
involuntarily, everyone else in the room looked up as Nodoka and  
Doctor Tofuu stepped through in blue surgery smocks.  
  
"How fares my son?" Genma asked impassively.  
  
"He is well, husband."  
  
"They've removed the blood clot and are closing his skull  
right now," Tofuu elaborated, carefully keeping his eyes away from  
the eldest Tendou girl lest he lose his composure. "His color is  
good, and he has had good vital signs all through the surgery. It  
was a relatively quick operation, considering."  
  
"Is Ranma going to be okay?" Akane asked, carefully  
masking the concern in her voice.  
  
"Doctor Najima believes that Ranma should be just fine,"  
Tofuu said. "In fact, because of the way we had to operate, she  
was conscious for a few minutes during the surgery. She said she  
wanted you to have this," he continued, rummaging in one of the  
deep pockets of the smock. He pulled out a vial, filled with a  
clear liquid that had a irregularly shaped grayish lump floating  
inside.  
  
Nabiki laughed out loud. "Really gave you a piece of his  
mind, didn't he Akane?"  
  
"That's so nice!" Kasumi noted cheerfully.  
  
Akane's eye twitched in irritation.  
  
"Bet that's a load off his mind, don't you think, Akane?"  
Nabiki chuckled.  
  
"It's not very pretty is it?" Soun asked aloud.  
  
"No, it's not," Tofuu agreed, as Akane snatched the vial  
out of his hands, and began to cradle it almost lovingly.  
  
"He's saying that he thinks he's going to be okay," Nodoka  
commented, kneeling down next to the girl. "He wants to show you  
that he cares about you, and doesn't want you to worry, even if he  
can't admit it."  
  
"I know, Auntie. I know."  
  
"Oh, my son is so manly!" Nodoka wailed.  
  
-----  
  
~to be continued... 


	3. Healing

Ranma and his friends belong to Rumiko Takahashi. They're used  
here without permission.  
  
------------------------------  
newRanma 3: Healing  
  
by Chris Jones  
------------------------------  
  
Ranma had had migraines before. Some pretty good ones, due to  
a certain someone's tendency to use heavy blunt instruments to work  
out her irritations.  
  
While she was in and out of consciousness during the surgery,  
Ranma had the abstract knowledge that her head was supposed to hurt.  
The drugs kept the force of the pain away, making it merely a concept  
rather than a brutal reality. It kept her calm, even though she could  
feel the cool air blowing over the cut flesh and bone that gave way  
directly into her...  
  
She didn't feel it when they actually touched her brain. She  
felt some other things, but she couldn't actually feel *that*. Tofuu  
told her that she wouldn't, but she didn't believe him until it  
happened.  
  
Now that she was awake and the drugs were wearing off,  
Ranma's head hurt like hell. She didn't like it. No sir. Not one bit.  
  
"How are you feeling, Ranma?" Tofuu asked from somewhere  
nearby.  
  
Ranma clenched her eyes shut, willing the light and sound  
away. It just made her head hurt worse as the sutured flesh tightened  
slightly over the cut bone in her skull.  
  
"nnnn!!!!"  
  
"Ah. Not well I take it," Tofuu guessed. "You'll be glad to  
know that the clot was completely removed. I know that we had you do  
it during the surgery, but I'd like you to count to ten again, just  
so we know everything's okay."  
  
"wass... afraid ya got the wires in backward?"  
  
"Something like that."  
  
"One two ten," Ranma bit off. "Ya happy?"  
  
Tofuu shook his head and chuckled. "For now. When you're  
feeling better, I'd like to run a more thorough battery of tests.  
Right now, I think there's someone who wants to see you if you're  
feeling up to it."  
  
"Huh?" Ranma asked.  
  
Suddenly, Ranma felt a pair of arms wrap around her. There  
was a sobbing, and a wetness on Ranma's face. She opened her eyes a  
little bit, just enough to see a shock of bluish black hair. There  
was a muffled sobbing in her ear as well.  
  
"Ah Akane... don't cry."  
  
* * *  
  
Over the next week, Akane almost single-handedly monopolized  
Ranma's visiting-hours. Ranma was unconscious or asleep most of the  
time, but the other girls grew rather irritated with her. They were  
all allowed brief, supervised visits however. Quite a few of Ranma's  
friends from school dropped by. Hinako-sensei stopped by briefly with  
a summary of the week's lessons.  
  
Even Kodachi came and stared into Ranma's sleeping face,  
despite the fact that she was female. Wordlessly, she turned and left  
after only a few seconds.  
  
On the fifth day, Akane, Shampoo and Ukyou were present to  
see Ranma's dressings changed. They got a good, stomach turning look  
at the roughly rectangular cut and the large sutures on the side of  
Ranma's fuzzy scalp. Tofuu informed them that the doctors usually  
used metal staples in the skull for cases like Ranma's, but had used  
an organic cement in this case. It slightly lengthened the recovery  
time, but Ranma couldn't afford to have inorganic material shifting  
around in her scalp when she changed.  
  
Ranma was silent through the procedure. She was more than a  
little upset at the noises of disgust the three girls made when her  
scalp was exposed.  
  
On the sixth day, Ranma was up and walking around despite  
Tofuu's recommendations. When she started doing basic katas, Tofuu  
came into her room to watch.  
  
"My balance is all screwed up," she complained after a few  
minutes  
  
"You have been laying in bed for almost a week, Ranma. That's  
enough to give anyone a little trouble getting back on their feet,"  
Tofuu explained.  
  
"nnn..." Ranma grunted, going through yet another repetition.  
  
On the seventh day, Tofuu decided to remove Ranma's bandages  
altogether and let her incision heal in the open air. Doctor Najima  
argued briefly to put Ranma in a neck-brace to minimize possible head  
trauma, but Tofuu recognized the pleading look in Ranma's eyes and  
decided not to allow the brace. He did get Ranma a padded boxing  
helmet and required the youth to wear it while moving around the  
room.  
  
* * *  
  
On the ninth day of Ranma's confinement, she was lying in bed  
reading a manga when there was a quiet knock at the door of her room.  
  
"Hey," she said, expecting one of the girls to come in.  
  
Instead, the door opened slowly. After a few minutes,  
Tatewaki Kunou stepped gingerly into the room. He was carrying a  
bouquet of roses.  
  
Ranma rolled her eyes and groaned quietly. She stuffed the  
manga under her pillow and stared the kendoist in the face.  
  
"Hey, Kunou."  
  
Stepping around her as if she was made of glass, the blue-  
robed youth quietly sat the roses down on the table next to her bed  
and rushed out of the room.  
  
Ranma sighed and put her sore head in her hands. She didn't  
know what bugged her more, the fact that Kunou showed up or the fact  
that he was now afraid he would hurt her.  
  
* * *  
  
Later that day, Tofuu, Kasumi, Nabiki and Akane took Ranma to  
the hospital cafeteria for lunch. It was a welcome change from the  
tray lunches she had received for the last several days. It was also  
quite an entertainment to watch Tofuu switch from 'full Kasumi-itis'  
mode into a more serious medical mode whenever any of the other  
doctors stopped to talk to him.  
  
Ranma would have doubled over laughing if not for the  
persistent pain involved in moving her head too much.  
  
On the way back from lunch, Akane was happily wheeling Ranma  
along in her wheelchair when Tofuu directed the group down a hallway  
that Ranma hadn't seen before.  
  
Pretty soon, they were going through a ward that housed many  
seriously injured patients. Ranma had been attached to EKG and EEG  
monitors for a few days, but many of these patients had a whole array  
of apparatus surrounding them.  
  
"What is this place?" Ranma asked, nervously eyeing some of  
the twitchier patients.  
  
"This is the head trauma ward," Tofuu explained. "You were in  
here briefly just after you arrived. We moved you to the CCU after we  
figured out that you had a cranial bleed."  
  
"Ugh," Ranma whispered.  
  
"Ugh, exactly," Tofuu agreed. "I brought you in here so that  
you could see what you were up against."  
  
"Huh?" Ranma asked in confusion.  
  
Somewhat guiltily, Akane let Tofuu take over wheeling Ranma  
down the long corridor.  
  
"You're staring to move around again. That's good, because it  
shows how fast you're recovering, but it's also bad, in the sense  
that you're not fully healed yet. An accident at this stage of the  
game could have a lot more serious effects than you might think."  
  
"I don't get what you're sayin', Doc," Ranma replied  
nervously.  
  
"Let me be a little more explicit, then," Tofuu said,  
dropping the hammer. "I'm going to restrict your actions until I feel  
that you're fully healed from brain surgery, Ranma."  
  
"What?"  
  
"No acrobatics and no martial arts other than basic katas for  
three months," Tofuu said as Ranma's expression became angry and  
contrary. "No sparring whatsoever. No exceptions. No running to  
school on the fence, either. I've seen how you do that and you could  
easily lose your balance and fall."  
  
Ranma glared darkly at both the doctor and Akane, who  
couldn't bring herself to look Ranma in the face.  
  
"What if I don't wanna?" Ranma asked in a petulant tone.  
  
"I'm not going to treat you anymore if you don't," Tofuu  
said. "And in the worst case, you could end up back in here. I don't  
want that and I don't think you want that. Do you?"  
  
Grumbling, Ranma crossed her arms and pulled her feet up into  
the wheelchair.  
  
"I'm sorry, Ranma," Akane said. "But you really do have to  
have time to heal."  
  
"It's for the best," Nabiki agreed from where she and Kasumi  
were trailing slightly behind the other three. "A few months of down-  
time against the possibility of a whole lifetime of disability. Think  
about it for a bit."  
  
"It will be okay, Ranma-kun," Kasumi assured the redhead.  
"I'm sure all your friends will wait until you're better to play,  
don't you think?"  
  
"Promise us?" Akane asked.  
  
Defeated by Akane's pleading expression, Ranma nodded. "I'll  
promise, but I won't like it."  
  
"I'll give you some books," Tofuu said in a consoling tone.  
"You can learn some Shiatsu while you heal. I know it's not as  
exciting as the other arts you practice, but I've found it to be  
invaluable knowledge. Think of it as a challenge."  
  
"Shiatsu, or not getting into any fights for three months,"  
Ranma asked in a petulant tone.  
  
"Both," Tofuu said.  
  
* * *  
  
Ranma was released from the hospital two days later. She  
hated being pushed out of the hospital in her wheelchair, but was  
even more upset by the taxi that Soun and Genma had waiting for her.  
  
"I can walk!" she protested.  
  
"Well, it's a bit early to be exerting yourself, don't you  
think?" Soun asked.  
  
"I'll ride with you," Nodoka offered.  
  
In the end, Ranma, Akane, and Nodoka ended up riding in the  
taxi back to the Tendou dojo. Ranma was appalled at the price but  
kept her mouth shut.  
  
"It's quite all right, dear," Nodoka said after she paid the  
driver. "I took out a very large medical insurance policy on you and  
your father some time back. This came out of that money."  
  
Ranma blinked. "I was kinda wonderin' how we were gonna pay  
for the hospital bills."  
  
"There are a few expenses that haven't been addressed yet,  
but I think we'll be okay," Nodoka said. "You shouldn't worry about  
it."  
  
Ranma's shoulders slumped. "Ah well. It's good to be back,"  
she said.  
  
* * *  
  
Two weeks passed in which Ranma did little but soak up bed  
rest and Kasumi's cooking in vast quantities.  
  
She hated to admit it, but the combination of such an  
intrusive surgery *and* a week in bed had all but decimated her  
stamina. She worked out a little each day, but found that she didn't  
really want to break Tofuu's restrictions yet.  
  
Since she was no longer able to spar with her father, he and  
Soun had actually started taking a few students at the dojo with  
beginning and advanced kenpo classes. Ranma guessed that most of the  
extra money was being used to cover some of the 'expenses' that her  
mother had mentioned, but signs of it did show up around the house.  
Nodoka had some new clothes, including a pretty, modern dress that  
Ranma thought she was beautiful in, and Kasumi bought a few more  
things for the kitchen. Akane was bringing her a new manga every day  
after school. Nabiki, as usual, played her cards close to her chest.  
Ranma couldn't tell that the extra money affected her at all, even  
though she was certain that she was extracting a good share from her  
father.  
  
Genma seemed to have a hard time talking to her. Akane had  
pretty much recovered from the incident that triggered Ranma's odd  
behavior and tipped them off to the brain injury, but it seemed that  
her father felt mostly responsible for the original injury in the  
first place. Ranma was irritated, but felt no need to confront the  
man.  
  
Instead, she learned to play go with Soun, and rapidly  
learned all the man's best techniques, including all the best cheats  
and distractions.  
  
In just a few days, Ranma was up to doing two or three hours  
of katas a day while Akane was at school. She never realized that she  
could actually *want* to go to school, or even how lonely she could  
be at home by herself.  
  
It was just a few days before she was scheduled to return to  
school that Ranma found Kasumi watching television in the main room  
one afternoon. It was quiet, but there was a dramatic scene on the  
screen riveting the older girl's attention.  
  
"Hey," Ranma said, greeting the girl.  
  
Kasumi's attention never wavered.  
  
"What are you watching?" Ranma asked, sitting down next to  
Kasumi. She stared at the show for a few minutes before realizing  
that it was a soap opera.  
  
Great. Kasumi was a soap-head. Who knew?  
  
With nothing better to do, Ranma bit the bullet and tried to  
decipher the complex story. She gave up after a few seconds and  
pulled out a manga to read while she waited for the show to finish.  
  
A few moments should be spent here describing what was  
otherwise a completely plotless show. 'Nurse Academy' revolved around  
the personal relationships between several very attractive and very  
interchangeable young women and the doctors they spent their time  
with.  
  
Needless to say, there were no end of faithless marriages,  
duplicitous affairs and completely unsurprising plot twists.  
  
The first lacy, bra-clad bosom shown as two of the  
interchangeable lovers got into a steamy makeout scene ripped Ranma's  
eye away from her 'Dragonball' manga and glued it back on the screen  
  
She blinked twice, not really sure of what she was seeing.  
  
"Eimi's the licentious one," Kasumi explained quietly,  
blushing at the scene but not looking away. "She's so naughty, always  
stealing Kakeri's boyfriends. She even... *ahem*... slept... with  
Takara's husband!"  
  
"Urr..."  
  
The next day, Ranma again joined Kasumi for 'Nurse Academy'.  
She was there anyway, and there was the implied guarantee that at  
least one of the girls was going to be in *some* state of undress  
sometime during the show. As it was however, Ranma made a mistake and  
began to look for plot where there was none in order to cover her  
secret intentions.  
  
"So what's that guy do again?" Ranma asked of one of the more  
muscular male characters, who seemed to have the best luck getting  
into the raciest situations.  
  
"Sifuru?" Kasumi responded. "He's the head of the grounds  
department. He's actually a plant for the Ministry of Intelligence,  
but is working at the Academy to eventually expose Kituto. What  
Kituto doesn't know is that the girl he's having an affair with,  
Mikao, is actually Sifuru's daughter."  
  
"Wait a sec... That girl," Ranma pointed to the tight  
uniform-clad nurse as she pranced across the screen, "is supposed to  
be that guy's daughter?"  
  
"Sifuru was played by a much older actor when I was in high  
school," Kasumi explained, "But when Akumi-san left, he was replaced  
with this actor to boost ratings."  
  
"Okay..."  
  
The next day, Ranma decided that she was pretty damn sick and  
tired of being a girl, and spent her time moping around the yard  
while Soun and her father conducted a Kenpo class in the dojo. When  
three P.M. rolled around, Ranma was more than happy to have the  
distraction of watching 'Nurse Academy' with Kasumi. Secretly, she  
was a little disappointed that none of the girls took off any of  
their clothes, but enjoyed the discussion of the show with Kasumi  
nonetheless. It was nice to have *someone* to talk to.  
  
When Akane and Nabiki came home that day, Ranma found that  
she was having a difficult time *not* discussing the show.  
  
The next day, a Friday, was a school holiday. It was also the  
last school day Ranma was scheduled to stay at home. Akane and Nabiki  
were home for the day. Akane spent the first part of the day  
puttering over Ranma, and trying to get the recovering girl to let  
her wrap bandages around her head. Nabiki, in turn, took extra time  
to tease Ranma about the amount of schoolwork she was going to have  
to catch up on. After the initial rush on Ranma, the redhead  
relocated to the dojo to read her Dragonball manga. Ranma found  
herself waiting for three o'clock with tapping feet.  
  
It was because Miki was getting into a deepening relationship  
with Dirk, the gaijin brain surgeon. There was a fairly decent chance  
that she'd take off her blouse again.  
  
(It had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that Moto had  
setup a secret date with Eimii at the same time his fiancee, Kakeri  
had a business presentation to make for the hospital at the same  
restaurant.)  
  
Ranma worked her way back into the main room about ten  
minutes before the main event. She flipped on the television to an  
innocuous gardening program, and settled down in the back of the room  
with her tankouban. Her usual pattern was to wait for Kasumi to come  
in and change the channel.  
  
To his surprise however, Nabiki and Akane marched in five  
minutes before the show started.  
  
"Sorry, Saotome," Nabiki prompted, nudging Ranma with her  
foot. I know you're sick and all, but you'll just have to take off.  
Our program is about to come on."  
  
"What?" Ranma demanded, hurt and a little disappointed.  
  
"Akane, Nabiki, are you going to watch with me today?" Kasumi  
asked as she came into the room from the kitchen.  
  
"You betcha, Sis!" Nabiki announced, holding up her copy of  
'NHK Serial Weekly'. This is Miki's date with Dirk and Kakeri's big  
presentation. It's only because we got the day off that we can watch  
it with you!"  
  
"Kakeri's big presentation..." Ranma wondered aloud.  
  
"That's right, Ranma," Nabiki cautioned. "Boring girl stuff.  
You wouldn't like it."  
  
"Uhh..."  
  
Akane did her best to placate the girl. "It's okay, Ranma.  
We'll let you have the television back right after 'Nurse Academy' is  
over, okay?"  
  
Ranma's jaw dropped open in surprise. They *all* wanted to  
see...  
  
"Where should I look for you?" Akane's question interrupted  
Ranma's train of thought. "In your room? In the dojo?"  
  
Ranma *could* relocate, so as to distance herself from any  
risk of being seen watching the show, but...  
  
She *really* wanted to see Kakeri give it to that bitch,  
Eimi!  
  
"Uh... I'll just read here in the back. I'll be okay."  
  
"Okay, Ranma," Nabiki replied regretfully. "Don't say we  
didn't warn you."  
  
Ranma was glad to have the company as she watched the soap.  
  
-----  
  
~to be continued... 


	4. Learning

Ranma and his friends belong to Rumiko Takahashi. They're used  
here without permission.  
  
------------------------------  
newRanma 4: Learning  
  
by Chris Jones  
------------------------------  
  
Ranma greeted Saturday morning with an enthusiasm she had  
never mustered for school before. It was a half-day of school on a  
day that Ranma would rather just sleep in on under normal  
circumstances. Today she anticipated it like a starving man waits  
for his next meal.  
  
She rose early, eager for her chance to get out of the  
house. She rushed through the breakfast Kasumi prepared for the  
family and almost dragged Akane out of the house and down the  
street for the school  
  
She had donned a Tokyo Dodgers hat to cover the healing  
scar on her scalp, but uneven red hair sill stood out from the  
bottom of the hat in all directions.  
  
Leaping out of the top of a pineapple statue at the front  
gates, Principal Kunou stopped Ranma and Akane before they managed  
to enter.  
  
"What's the big deal!" Ranma protested. "We're gonna be  
late!"  
  
The principal smiled, his teeth glinting in the early  
morning sunlight. He pulled a remote out of his pocket, causing  
the gate to close behind him.  
  
"Students no gonna wear hats at my school!" The man  
exclaimed in this thick faux-hawaiian accent. "Be a good Keiki and  
take offa hat, Okay?" He pulled out a pair of shears. "OR ELSE!"  
  
Ranma clenched her fists. "No fighting," she whispered,  
regretting her promise.  
  
Akane put a comforting hand on her shoulder.  
  
"Fine," Ranma said. "You want it?" She lifted up the hat,  
revealing the long line of sutures and the crusted-over incision  
they held closed. "Maybe if we're lucky, we'll get to see some  
spinal fluid spurt out today!" she told the principal. "I got a  
little bit of lymphatic fluid to come out of the stitches last  
night, maybe I can do it again!" Ranma exaggerated further.  
"Hmmm?"  
  
The principal paled. The clippers hung loosely at his  
side.  
  
Surprising Ranma, he grabbed the Dodgers cap and set it  
down gently over Ranma's scalp, covering the sutures back up.  
  
"Keiki... this time, and this time *only*, you beat da  
headmaster without a fight. You tell everyone I give you a hard  
time, okey-dokey?"  
  
Ranma and Akane giggled and Ranma nodded her assent. "I'll  
tell 'em I had to whip your ass coming in."  
  
"Good Keiki," the principal said, opening the gates back  
up. "Now get to class before you gotta do water torture."  
  
They both ran off, leaving the principal standing on the  
front steps.  
  
"Sometimes I wonder about him," Akane thought aloud.  
  
Ranma nodded. "Something..." Something bothered her about  
the principal's behavior. Something... just outside her reach.  
Something important though. "Nah. Never mind." She'd figure it out  
later.  
  
After catching up with all her friends, Ranma gleefully  
snoozed through first period.  
  
All Ranma's friends eventually got around to asking to see  
the 'site'. While Hiroshi and Daisuke both knew that Ranma had had  
brain surgery, some of the more perverted members of her class  
understood that Ranma had had abdominal surgery. At one point  
there was a cry for her to take her shirt off so they all could  
see despite the hat she was wearing. Ranma blushed and shook in  
embarrassment and rage. Akane came to her rescue and punted all  
the boys out of the classroom.  
  
For the most part, Ranma was back to her life. As much as  
she denied it, the half-day had taken more out of her than she  
realized. She swore to step up her training and did several hours  
of katas in the dojo on Sunday. The next day, Monday, she returned  
to school eager to resume her schedule.  
  
Lunch that day was an ordeal for both Ranma and Akane.  
Ranma had sworn not to fight, but both Shampoo and Ukyou came  
bearing gifts of food. Ranma *gleefully* accepted before she  
realized how upset it made Akane.  
  
Akane wanted to run off so she didn't hit Ranma, but stood  
her ground.  
  
After a few minutes several other girls and even a few  
boys approached Ranma with hand-packed bentos and other treats of  
food.  
  
Unable to take her frustrations out, Akane just cried  
helplessly into her hands as Ranma gorged herself.  
  
Ranma felt a little guilty about Akane, but couldn't help  
but accept all the free food. It was odd, she thought, the way all  
the other girls and boys looked at her while she ate. She knew  
that her body drew attention, but had never considered it before.  
Now she was left to wonder if the people watching her were waiting  
for their particular bento or candy-bar to be consumed, or if  
there was some other reason for watching her so closely.  
  
Since her sessions with what Tofuu-sensei called a  
'Behavioral Specialist' didn't start for another day, Ranma  
decided to go out after school with Hiroshi and Daisuke to take  
her mind off the strange new thoughts.  
  
The three left school and headed towards a pizza joint  
that Hiroshi suggested. It had a large arcade with several new,  
high-tech games that all three youths wanted to try. After a few  
minutes of walking with the two, however, Ranma began to grow  
uncomfortable. Their talk was 'manly', mostly about the sporting  
events Ranma had missed while in the hospital, but she couldn't  
help but feel their eyes lingering over her curves. They looked  
away guiltily when Ranma turned back to face them, but otherwise  
didn't even seem to be noticing they were doing it.  
  
By the time she got home, Ranma was feeling absolutely  
paranoid.  
  
Akane was there, and was helping Kasumi (under heavy  
supervision) prepare dinner. Ranma decided not to comment,  
especially after all three of the Tendou girls came out of the  
kitchen to talk to her.  
  
"How was your day, Ranma?" Kasumi asked.  
  
"Uh, okay, I guess," she said, suddenly uncomfortably  
aware of Kasumi's proximity.  
  
Nabiki smiled in her usual feral manner. "All the boys  
have been missing your hot bod, you know," she teased. "I heard  
you got some treats today at lunch--"  
  
Akane snorted and stared at the ceiling in anger.  
  
"Did you give any treats in return?" Nabiki asked.  
  
"NO!" Ranma yelled, her face turning a bright red color.  
"And stop staring at me like that!" she commanded as she turned  
and ran away.  
  
"What was that all about?" Kasumi asked.  
  
Nabiki smiled wickedly. "I think Ranma-chan has finally  
noticed what she does to the boys," she said.  
  
"About bloody damn time," Akane grumbled under her breath.  
"Maybe now she'll grow some modesty and not prance around here in  
the nude all the time."  
  
"It's not that bad," Kasumi said.  
  
"It could be," Nabiki countered, smirking. "I do so need  
to make sure my camera has film."  
  
* * *  
  
Once she calmed down, Ranma felt bad about yelling at  
Nabiki. She didn't want Nabiki to be mad at her and was unsure how  
to best apologize for her angry words. After the mischievous  
glances Nabiki kept shooting her at dinner, Ranma suspected that  
girl wasn't mad at her for her outburst. The redhead was still  
uncomfortable with the situation and felt herself driven to find  
out what was really going on inside Nabiki's head.  
  
After dinner she took several minutes to calm down and  
knocked on Nabiki's door.  
  
She could hear the quiet grunts as Nabiki exercised  
inside.  
  
"Come in!" Nabiki called out in between deep breaths.  
  
Inside, Nabiki was working out in a tiny bikini, laying on  
her back doing leg lifts on her bed. She turned her head upside  
down and was facing the door. Ranma found it rather uncomfortable  
to talk to Nabiki, inverted as she was.  
  
"Uhmmm... Sorry I yelled at you," Ranma offered, hoping it  
would be sufficient to start the conversation.  
  
Her eyes couldn't help but move up and down as Nabiki's  
slender legs alternately rose up into the air and bent back down.  
  
"It's okay. I enjoy teasing you," Nabiki said honestly.  
"You have the cutest blush!"  
  
Ranma's mouth worked up and down wordlessly as Nabiki  
giggled in between breaths.  
  
"See, there it is again! I swear, you're *so* easy to  
manipulate, Ranma."  
  
"Am not!" Ranma declared angrily.  
  
"So are you hear to apologize or just fantasize about my  
body, then?" Nabiki asked, reaching up and cupping her breasts  
playfully.  
  
Ranma goggled at the cleavage that showed from the top of  
her bikini. She could feel the blush starting to creep burningly  
onto her ears and down her chest. She had felt this feeling  
before, usually because of one of Shampoo's machinations, but it  
had never affected her in quite this way. Terrified, she ran out  
of Nabiki's room, and out to the dojo.  
  
"You'll have to pay the standard fee if you want to see  
any more!" Nabiki called after her. She collapsed on her bed into  
a fit of laughter.  
  
After a little bit, Kasumi called her and her sister down  
to watch an episode of 'Nurse Academy' she had taped while they  
were at school  
  
Ranma, hearing the familiar opening theme playing from  
dojo, sneaked in guiltily to watch.  
  
Nabiki, now clad in shorts and a tank top, shot  
mischievous glances at the red-head every once in a while, but  
Ranma would not be cowed out of the room.  
  
* * *  
  
The next day was Ranma's first appointment with the  
psychologist Tofuu-sensei had recommended. She was apprehensive  
about talking to anyone about the curse, but after Nabiki's cruel  
teasing the night before, was almost eager to talk to someone,  
*anyone* about the odd feelings running around inside her skull.  
  
Makuna-sensei was a thin, older man with a thick mane of  
hair that threatened to overwhelm his head. In his tweed suit, he  
bore a startling visual resemblance to a scarecrow.  
  
He bowed respectfully as Ranma entered his office. Much to  
the red-head's relief, his eyes did not linger on her body.  
  
"So, you're the Ranma that my good friend Tofuu has told  
me so much about."  
  
Ranma nodded nervously and sat in a chair when she was  
prompted, rather than on the long couch at the end of the  
psychologist's office.  
  
"I've heard quite a bit about you," Makuna said, "but let  
me tell you a little about myself before we begin. I've been a  
behavioral psychologist for almost thirty years. In my time I've  
performed many studies and helped men, women, and children with a  
pretty impressive array of psychoses. Something I consider my  
specialty is helping men and women who are homosexual or bisexual  
to understand and deal with their feelings."  
  
"Uhhh..." Ranma began, uncomfortable with the doctor's  
words.  
  
"I quite understand that you don't feel that you fall into  
those groups," Makuna continued, "But you may have problems that  
are similar to those I treat."  
  
"Okay," Ranma replied nervously.  
  
"More than anything, we're here to make sure that you're  
allowed to develop normally in your unique situation. If you don't  
mind," Makuna said, "I'd like you to begin by telling me how you  
see yourself."  
  
"I guess I don't understand," Ranma admitted.  
  
"Tell me about yourself," Makuna prompted. "Tell me about  
your life. Tell me what you like about yourself and what you  
dislike. I understand that you have a fiancee through an arranged  
marriage. Tell me how you feel about her."  
  
"Uhhmmm... Okay," Ranma said, unsure of where to begin.  
  
"Perhaps you should tell me about your curse," Makuna  
said.  
  
It was like a dam broke inside Ranma. Suddenly she found  
herself telling the doctor about all her martial arts training and  
the horrible day when she actually fell into Nannichuan. She  
explained how the curse worked and all about the different people  
she knew who were cursed.  
  
Makuna listened patiently and took occasional notes.  
  
Ranma continued on about all the different battles she had  
had and all the times when she had to rescue Akane. She went on  
about the fights she had at school, and then went back over all  
the times her curse had been 'stuck', leaving her trapped as a  
girl. Finally, she talked about the blatantly sexual teasing  
Nabiki had ribbed her with.  
  
When she finished, close to an hour had passed. Makuna-  
sensei had gone through an entire legal pad worth of notes. She  
felt strangely lightheaded after revealing so much about herself.  
  
"Well," Makuna said a few minutes after Ranma stopped  
talking. "What you have told me sounds like a story of a young man  
who is trying to preserve his ideas about masculinity in a world  
that grows more and more hostile to them by the day."  
  
Ranma nodded.  
  
"Nabiki, your fiancee's sister, sounds like quite an  
interesting person. I think you may be worrying too much about the  
jokes she's playing on you."  
  
"Maybe," Ranma said, not really agreeing with the doctor.  
  
"Do you remember the first time you were aroused?" Makuna  
asked.  
  
Ranma blushed, but answered the question. "The first time  
I saw... another girl's... urmmm... parts," she blurted out, "was  
when I saw Akane in the bath that first time."  
  
"But it didn't make you feel like you did when her sister  
posed for you."  
  
"I was surprised," Ranma said, trying to remember the  
feelings, "But... no. I guess not. I was more afraid than anything  
else."  
  
"Everyone feels attraction, Ranma, be it to members of the  
opposite sex, members of the same sex, both, or even both at  
different times as in your particular case. I suspect that what  
happened last night was your first true arousal. Nabiki probably  
experienced hers much earlier in life. Due to the surgery you  
recently had, this was probably the first time you *could* feel  
arousal. It's nothing to be ashamed of. It's quite normal, in  
fact. If it happens again, you should try not to let it frighten  
you."  
  
"But I'm a*girl right now. I... I dunno. I don't wanna be  
attracted to guys, but do I have to be attracted to girls when I  
am one?" Ranma asked.  
  
"That's for you to find out," Makuna-sensei asked, a  
chuckle in his voice. "I take it that you don't think it's very  
masculine for a woman to be attracted to other women?"  
  
Ranma shrugged, unsure of how to answer the question.  
  
"Most of your ideas about what it means to be 'manly' come  
from your father," Makuna said, checking back over his notes.  
"Would you say that's a true statement?"  
  
"I guess so. My mom has some funny ideas about it, but  
yeah, I think my dad has taught me most of what I know about being  
a guy."  
  
"Well, today has been a good start, but something I want  
you to think about before we talk again is the fact that you don't  
seem to consider your father very intelligent. If you found out  
that all his ideas about what is masculine and feminine were  
wrong, how would you feel? How would you react?"  
  
"Okay," Ranma said, a little distrustful of the  
assignment. It sounded a little like homework.  
  
"Something else you might want to do is get a firmer idea  
of how you feel about your female body. Do you like it? Do you  
dislike it? Our time is up for today, but next time, why don't you  
tell me about these things."  
  
Ranma nodded. The doctor bowed again and led her to the  
door.  
  
For a second, Ranma glanced at the young woman waiting in  
the room beyond. She had short, light colored hair and a pretty  
face. She looked every bit as nervous and afraid as Ranma felt  
when she first arrived.  
  
"Have a good evening, Ranma," Makuna said in parting. "Are  
you ready for today's session, Taiyoko?"  
  
"Hai, Sensei," the light-haired girl said, hopping up and  
running into the office as if it was her last refuge.  
  
"Good to see I ain't the only one with weird problems,"  
Ranma said as she left the office.  
  
* * *  
  
The next day after school, Ranma went out with Hiroshi and  
Daisuke again. On their way to the pizza joint/arcade, Hiroshi  
suggested that they stop at a manga shop to pick up some of the  
latest books.  
  
Hiroshi and Daisuke both immediately headed toward the  
back wall of the shop where the proprietor kept all the ecchi  
doujinshi. Ranma grimaced and walked over to one of the display  
shelves. She was slowly working her way through all the Dragonball  
manga, having missed so many while she was in China. The  
shopkeeper knew that she simply couldn't afford to buy all the  
back issues at once, so he kept a generous supply on hand. Ranma  
picked up the next two in line, and began to wander around,  
looking for anything else that caught her eye. There was a swords-  
and-sorcery type book she had been interested in for a while, and  
some of the samurai stuff looked pretty neat.  
  
Right by the latest samurai manga display, there was a  
tankouban showing a young woman with pink hair and a boy's school  
uniform jacket holding aloft a glowing sword. Next to her was a  
dark-haired girl that reminded Ranma somewhat of Akane. Behind her  
were four other people in military-style uniforms, each with their  
own swords.  
  
"Hmmm..." Ranma mused to herself, nothing the obvious  
combat potential of such an image. She picked up the book and  
started flipping through the first few pages without looking at  
the title. She read for a second and...  
  
"Rose Bride? Wait a second here," she said, flipping back  
to the cover. "Shoujo Kakumei Utena?" she read aloud. Underneath  
it had a subtitle in roman characters. "La Fillette  
Revolutionaire?"  
  
Man, what a cheap trick, making a shoujo manga so that it  
looked like a fighting manga. Ranma felt embarrassed for having  
picked it up. After a few seconds, however, she felt the urge to  
find out what happened after the scene she had just read. The  
pink-haired girl, Utena, was about to get vengeance for her  
overly-touchy friend who had just been made fun of by the captain  
of the kendo team.  
  
"Doesn't that sound familiar?" she asked herself. Sighing  
deeply, telling herself that it was a *fighting* manga that looked  
like it was shoujo title, she picked it up and hid it behind her  
Dragonball book.  
  
At the pizza shop, Ranma began to wish that she hadn't.  
  
"So you like 'Shojou Kakumei Utena', Ranma?" Hiroshi  
kidded.  
  
"Shut up!" Ranma growled.  
  
"Man, more sexual ambiguity in that story than at our  
school!" Daisuke said, just before scarfing a slice of pepperoni.  
  
"You know the main characters are all lesbians, right?"  
Hiroshi asked.  
  
"No, I didn't!" Ranma huffed in a matter of fact tone. Her  
face was red, and her ears felt like they were on fire.  
  
"Ah, don't let it bug you, Ranma," Daisuke said. "If it  
makes you feel better, I've got a complete run of Utena at home.  
It's a pretty good story, all things considered."  
  
Ranma blinked in surprise.  
  
"I've also got a complete run of Sailor Moon." Daisuke  
admitted.  
  
"You've also got about a bazillion Sailor Moon doujinshi,"  
Hiroshi said, pulling one of the books out of Daisuke's bag. It  
was entitled 'Lunatic Syndrome' and had a picture of Sailor  
Jupiter and Sailor Mercury in an undressed state and entwined in a  
deep kiss on the cover.  
  
Ranma blushed again, shocked by what she had seen.  
  
"Put that away, man!" Daisuke snapped. "Are you trying to  
get us thrown out of here?"  
  
"Personally, I like period war stories," Hiroshi noted,  
pulling out a copy of 'Tora Squadron'.  
  
"What was that one you had?" Daisuke asked. "'The  
General's Dilemma'? Wasn't that a shoujo romance?"  
  
Hiroshi nodded. "It was written by the same author. She's  
a military otaku who spends a lot of time recreating weapon  
design." He opened the book to display a squadron of doomed  
Kamikaze bombers approaching an American battleship. "Look at that  
design! You can see every bolt and seam on that carrier!"  
  
"A lot of guys read shoujo," Daisuke said. "Just like a  
lot of girls read shonen manga. Some are geeks, like Hiroshi  
here--"  
  
"Shut up, Dai."  
  
"And some just kinda don't worry about it."  
  
"Yeah, don't worry, bud. We won't tell Akane that you've  
started reading girl's stories."  
  
Ranma grimaced and dug into her pizza. She felt a little  
better than before, actually. Hiroshi and Daisuke were still  
staring at inopportune times, but they were kidding around and  
treating her like a guy.  
  
Later, the three headed to the back part of the shop to  
try out some of the games.  
  
Ranma may have been a girl, but she could still best all  
takers at Super Turbo Street Fighter 3.141 GammaDeltaFoxtrot. Both  
Hiroshi and Daisuke lost several hundred yen to her skill.  
  
"Hey, check this one out," Hiroshi said, pointing at a  
series of rather phallic looking chambers near the back of the  
arcade. "It's a virtual reality game about giant robots!"  
  
"Evangelion," Ranma read. "What's the deal?"  
  
"You can either duel with other players, or fight monsters  
called 'Angels'. It's pretty popular. They're even starting to  
organize tournaments."  
  
"Hmmm..."  
  
They played the game for a bit, and Ranma got into it, but  
the displays tended to make her a little dizzy.  
  
On the way out of the arcade, Ranma noticed a familiar  
person sitting at a booth in the Pizza shop. It took her a second  
to place the face, but she remembered that it was Makuna-sensei's  
patient, Taiyoko.  
  
Smiling, Ranma waved at the girl.  
  
Taiyoko froze, an expression of embarrassment and fear on  
her face. She turned away, and stared at the wall.  
  
Ranma grimaced, wondering what she had done.  
  
"Guys, do I have something on my chest?" she said,  
examining her shirt.  
  
"Hmm, A pair of C-cup's I think," Daisuke noted. "Not that  
common for a guy, but I suppose we can make an exception."  
  
"Shut up, Damn it!"  
  
"Got Ranma's goat again, Dai," Hiroshi noted. "You're two  
for two tonight."  
  
Ranma grimaced, and did her best to suppress a grin.  
  
It felt nice to belong.  
  
* * *  
  
By the time Ranma made it home, dinnertime had come and  
gone. She apologized to Kasumi, explaining that she had gotten  
pizza with her friends.  
  
"It's okay, Ranma-chan," Kasumi said sweetly.  
  
Ranma winced at the '-chan' suffix, but held her tongue.  
  
"Oh, I was going to put on a tape of today's Nurse Academy  
episode," she said.  
  
"Oh, I'll go tell Akane and Nabiki for you if you want,"  
Ranma offered, her expression perking up dramatically.  
  
"It's okay, Ranma-chan," Kasumi explained. "They've  
already seen it."  
  
Ranma blushed again. She hadn't been hiding it very well,  
but now she was caught.  
  
Kasumi stared deeply into the red-head's eyes. "I have  
such a great time watching with you, so I decided to wait until  
you got home today."  
  
"You want me to watch with you?" Ranma asked, desperately  
trying to figure out how to escape from this situation.  
  
"I understand that Kakeri's going to get into a big fight  
with Eimi! Don't you want to see what happens?"  
  
Ranma looked around. There wasn't anyone in the front  
room.  
  
"Yeah. I guess so. Let's put it on. Do you mind if we keep  
the volume kinda low?"  
  
* * *  
  
That night, Ranma dreamt of a red-headed, pig-tailed,  
sword-weilding school-girl.  
  
A guy who looked just like Kunou, except he had long hair  
and was wearing a really nice military-style school uniform, had  
challenged her to a duel. If Ranma/Utena won the duel, then the  
short, dark-skinned Anthy/Akane would be free of Kunou/Saionji and  
could come live in the girls' dorm with Ranma.  
  
In the duel, Ranma/Utena drew Anthy/Akane's soul-mallet  
and used it to knock Kunou off the roof of the dueling platform  
high above Furinkan Academy.  
  
Akane, free at last of Kunou's domination, declared that  
Ranma was the victor in the duels, and therefore the groom of the  
Rose Bride. They could sit and watch Nurse Academy reruns all day,  
every day!  
  
Akane leaned in closer to Ranma...  
  
Further away, on the overly-symbolistic observation  
platform, Ryouga/Touga, Ukyou/Miki, Nabiki/Juri, and  
Kodachi/Nanami watched in amusement through opera-glasses.  
  
"Can we get some privacy here?" Ranma demanded angrily,  
just as Akane was about to pull the zipper down on the back of the  
Rose Bride's wedding gown.  
  
Ranma woke in a sweat. She was trembling, and her skull  
ached anew.  
  
"What the *hell* was that?" she asked out loud.  
  
-----  
  
~to be continued...  
  
Apologies to Jim Lazar. The Evangelion game Ranma and his friends  
play in this chapter is pretty much stolen directly from 'Garden  
of Eva'. 


	5. Seeing

Ranma and his friends belong to Rumiko Takahashi. They're used  
here without permission.  
  
------------------------------  
newRanma 5: Seeing  
  
by Chris Jones  
------------------------------  
  
Ranma's days at Furinkan had altered slightly due to  
doctor's orders. She had to sit through all the parts of the  
school day that really bugged her, and then didn't get to  
participate in the parts of the school day that she actually felt  
interested in. No P.E.. No swimming. No action whatsoever.  
Instead, they had her putting away books in the library.  
  
"This suuucks!" she whined, after searching through a few  
hundred texts on Japanese history in order to put 'Tokugawa and  
Me' in its proper place.  
  
There was nothing she could apply her skills to. Martial-  
arts Dewy Decimal System was out of the question since the  
librarian glared darkly at her every time Ranma acted like she was  
going to throw a book.  
  
Eventually, Ranma found a table in the back of the library  
office behind some overstuffed stacks to lay her tender head on  
and try to snooze after her repetitive library chores were done.  
She figured that as hidden and as out of the way as it was, no one  
would bother her as she dozed.  
  
It was as she was doing so that the assistant librarian  
walked back to find her.  
  
"Ah, Saotome-san! I was hoping that you could help me,"  
the girl said.  
  
Ranma stared in minor irritation at the young woman in her  
frumpy dress and too-thick glasses.  
  
"What's up?" she asked.  
  
"Well, you're aware of the principal's book policy,  
right?"  
  
"Uhhh..."  
  
"If the book contains any 'objectionable' material,  
Principal Kunou says we're supposed to burn it."  
  
"What's objectionable?" Ranma asked. "Anti-Hawaii stuff?"  
  
The librarian rolled her eyes and nodded. "Also, any books  
that describe long hair," she said, pointing to a shelf full of  
books on fashion and hair-styling.  
  
"Why doesn't this surprise me?" Ranma asked.  
  
"Also, we have a few teachers who are a bit overzealous  
about obscenity in books and magazines. That's a real problem  
because we keep books for the photo club which all have chapters  
on nude photography. There are some others." She handed the red-  
head a list. "Rather than get rid of the books, we just keep them  
back here so the students who really care about reading them can  
still find them."  
  
Ranma gazed around at the miniature library surrounding  
her. She really didn't know what it was for, but now that she  
looked around, she could see a few titles that she realized could  
be incendiary. There was a copy of a book with a Nazi Swastika on  
the front right next to a book labeled 'Racism in Japan: A Modern  
Study'. On the other side, there was a book with a pair of male  
ballet dancers on the front. After a second of study, she realized  
that the two were in a rather intimate pose. The book's title was  
'Living with Homosexuality'.  
  
Ranma realized that she had chosen the banned books  
section of the library for her secret nap.  
  
The assistant librarian wheeled a cart full of books in  
and stopped it in front of Ranma.  
  
"These are books we've had complaints about. If you would  
be so kind, would you skim through these books and see if they  
have anything on the list. If so, we'll stick them back here and  
put the rest back out front."  
  
"Okay," Ranma accepted. It wasn't physical activity in any  
way, but the activity sounded a whole lot better than looking for  
little numbers on the shelves and trying to make books fit.  
  
"Stack the objectionables here on the table," the  
assistant librarian instructed, "and leave the others on the cart.  
I'll put them back out after classes today."  
  
After the librarian had gone, Ranma read the list. Some of  
the things on it, like 'textual depictions of explicit images or  
situations' sounded a little boring for Ranma, so she started with  
the things she thought would be easier to find.  
  
"'Bodywatching, a Field Guide to the Human Species' by  
Desmond Morris. Japanese Edition," Ranma said to herself after  
picking a book at random. "Sounds boring. Lesse, does it 'contain  
images depicting nudity, violence, or criminal acts'?"  
  
The dust cover of the book depicted a woman's bare  
abdomen. It wasn't *quite* nudity, so Ranma opted to open the book  
to a random page.  
  
This page depicted a pretty young woman with medium length  
hair smiling happily at the camera. Ranma's face turned red,  
because it also depicted the fact that she had, at some point,  
pierced both her nipples, tattooed her hip, and had shaved all the  
hair off of her mound and labia. She was quite naked, and very  
beautiful in a somewhat gothic sense. She seemed completely at  
ease in front of the camera, and happy to have a such a picture  
taken of her.  
  
Ranma slammed the book closed and stared at the cover in  
shock Besides the burning feeling on her face and ears, there was  
a warm tingling in her gut, and her legs felt shaky for some  
reason.  
  
After a few seconds thought, she recognized that she was  
feeling the same thing as when Nabiki had flaunted herself so  
brazenly. Her breathing had hastened and her heart was pounding as  
if she was about to start fighting.  
  
"Oh yeah. Nudity," Ranma breathed. "Definitely gonna keep  
this one back here."  
  
She moved to push the book aside and pick up another, but  
the cover caught her eye again. She felt both a repulsion and a  
curious compulsion. She remembered Makuna sensei had advised her  
not to fear the feelings.  
  
"Ranma Saotome ain't afraid of anything!" she whispered,  
almost defiantly picking the book back up.  
  
She opened it to page one and began to read.  
  
* * *  
  
"Ranma, are you okay?" Akane asked.  
  
Ranma, her face still burning, turned to look at her  
fiancee and nodded. Her blush deepened for a second as she  
remembered an image from the book. Walking away from the school  
building and into the courtyard, Ranma found that she was having  
difficulty with her knees for some odd reason.  
  
"Hey, bud!" Hiroshi said, as he walked by. He slapped  
Ranma on the back and pointed to a nearby tree. "My mom made way  
too many spareribs last night and put more than I can possibly eat  
in my bento," he said, holding up a oversized box. "You two want  
some?"  
  
"Sure!" Akane said. "I made a bento for Ranma, too!"  
  
Ranma groaned, but said nothing. Secretly, she was  
thankful for the distraction provided. If she was concentrating on  
avoiding Akane's horrible cooking then she wouldn't have time to  
think about Akane's, long, slender, well-toned...  
  
*gulp*  
  
"Kasumi helped me," Akane admitted out loud, rolling her  
eyes. "You don't have to worry about it, Ranma. It's not *that*  
bad."  
  
"Hey, cool!" Daisuke exclaimed as he approached the three.  
"Spareribs!"  
  
"Want some?" Hiroshi offered.  
  
"There you are, Akane!" Sayuri said as she and Yuka  
approached the group.  
  
Yuka help up a large platter. "We made some muffins in  
home-ec. Does anyone want to try?"  
  
"Sure," Ranma said, snatching one and stuffing it in her  
mouth.  
  
Why did the frocks the girls wore all have to show so much  
of their calves or stretch so tightly across their... their...  
  
"Heya , Ranchan!" Ukyou greeted as she began to set up her  
portable grill next to the group. "Hey guys. Looks like we're  
having a party, huh?"  
  
"Ucchan!" Ranma greeted happily. If there was one female  
she could trust not to try to play funny tricks on her, it was  
good old Ucchan. As usual, she was clad in her boy's school  
uniform. Her breasts were tightly bound underneath and her legs  
weren't revealed by the hem of any skirt.  
  
"Hey, free okonomiyaki!" Hiroshi noted happily.  
  
"We've got muffins, Ukyou-san!" Sayuri noted.  
  
"Hold up a sec and I'll let everyone try a new batter  
recipe I've been working on," she said, kneeling down to connect  
the gas feed to the burners beneath the coated steel cooking  
surface.  
  
Ranma's left eye began to twitch as the tight boy's pants  
stretched across the girl's well-formed backside. The fabric was  
also stretching in an odd fashion across the area just below and  
in between her--  
  
*ULP*  
  
Ukyou blinked in surprise as the red-head's face jerked  
away, almost guiltily. Was Ranma staring at her ass? An almost  
irrepressible grin sneaked onto her face as she began to cook.  
  
Nabiki walked up curiously. "Did someone say 'free'?"  
  
"I've got a new recipe I want to try out on everybody,"  
Ukyou explained, careful to wag her bottom at Ranma as she did so.  
  
"Sign me up!" Nabiki said cheerfully.  
  
Ranma did her best to concentrate on the food that was  
being shared around. There just had to have been different  
chapters in the damned book dedicated to each body part. Ranma  
couldn't even look at the girl's ankles now, bare, as in Sayuri's  
or Nabiki's case or outlined with thin cotton socks like Yuka's  
or Akane's, without imagining what the girls would look like with  
just those crossed ankles covering more private, more secret parts  
of their bodies.  
  
Ranma began to shiver slightly.  
  
"Airen! Shampoo come to-- Aiyah... Everyone eating  
already."  
  
"Shampoo!" Ranma looked up as the amazon approached, eager  
to dig into some more food to take her mind off her woes.  
  
"What wrong with Ranma?" Shampoo asked, bouncing to a halt  
like only an Amazon could.  
  
Ripping her eyes off of Shampoo's firm, springy, almost-  
bursting-out-of-her-too-tight-Chinese-blouse cleavage, Ranma  
snatched another muffin and stared at her own feet. Those were  
safe, weren't they?  
  
"I think Ranma must have a bit of a headache?" Nabiki  
suggested, a devilish smile on her face. "Right Ranma-kun?"  
  
The redhead nodded, realizing that she knew the exact  
color, shade and position of Shampoo's cherry-like nipples for as  
many times as they had been shoved in her face.  
  
"Well, Shampoo bring way too much ramen then," the girl  
said. Was Ranma staring at her breasts? "Ranma like ramen? Hmm?"  
she asked, kneeling down in front of the trembling red-head. She  
gave an experimental jiggle and noticed a subtle increase in her  
target's discomfort.  
  
Shampoo smiled wide and wickedly! Ranma *was* noticing!  
About bloody damn time.  
  
"Verily, it appears that there is a line for okonomiyaki  
today," Kunou noted as he strode up to the group.  
  
Ranma had never been so happy to see the kendoist in her  
life.  
  
"Hey, Sempai," she said, doing her best to keep her eyes  
fixed on another guy instead of one of the girls.  
  
"Hello, pigtailed-girl," Kunou said, blushing cutely and  
looking away nervously. He still looked afraid to come too close,  
lest he somehow accidentally hurt her. Actually, it was kinda  
sweet--  
  
WHAT THE HELL WAS SHE THINKING!? Ranma firmly fixed the  
okonomiyaki Ukyou had just handed her in mind and did her best to  
eat without thinking.  
  
Due to the no-fighting rules, Akane did her best not to  
scream in frustration at both Ukyou and Shampoo as they invaded  
Ranma's personal space with hips, buttocks, and heaving bosoms.  
  
Sayuri and Yuka both rolled their eyes at the overblown  
displays and began to chat about the creation of their muffins  
while they enjoyed bentos and Ukyou's new recipe.  
  
Nabiki, noting Ranma's discomfort with a grin, shifted her  
position slightly so that her uniform skirt rode up above the tops  
of her knees rather than rest underneath her.  
  
"Are you cold, Ranma?" Akane asked.  
  
"Yeah," Ranma lied. "I gotta ask Tofuu about it after  
school"  
  
"I wonder if we should try to warm Ranma up somehow?"  
Nabiki said out loud.  
  
Ranma looked up for a second, and then wished she hadn't.  
Nabiki had twitched her skirt up so that it displayed an amazing  
amount of thigh. Her legs weren't as well-toned as Akane's, but  
they were slender and nicely proportioned. The way they were  
folded and the way Nabiki was facing Ranma, the red-head could see  
almost all the way to the girl's thin, white silk panties.  
  
Ranma glanced up, feeling eyes upon her. For just a  
second, she locked gazes with Nabiki.  
  
The older girl smiled evilly. "Busted," she mouthed  
silently.  
  
Ranma jerked her gaze away, feeling the tips of her ears  
beginning to burn. There's no way Nabiki could realize what was  
happening to her, could she?  
  
Nervously, Ranma grabbed the nearest thing and began  
eating, not paying any attention to the flavor of the food.  
  
"You're... eating it?" Akane asked, somewhat surprised.  
  
Ranma glanced down, realizing that she was eating the  
bento Akane had made for her.  
  
"What do you think?" Akane asked nervously  
  
The sausage-octopuses had been mutilated, the pickles were  
almost too salty to palate, and the sticky rice was about the same  
consistency as glue. The box itself was wide enough so that if  
Ranma stuck her face in it while she ate, she couldn't see any  
firm, curvy female flesh.  
  
"Best bento you've ever made, Akane," Ranma said. "I mean  
that."  
  
An insulted 'hmph' could be heard from Ukyou and Shampoo.  
  
Kunou, who was still quietly eating a short distance away  
looked on curiously. Had the pigtailed girl been staring at him?  
And why was Nabiki Tendou laughing so hard?  
  
* * *  
  
"So you believe that Nabiki was teasing you  
intentionally?" Makuna asked.  
  
After several long seconds, Ranma nodded. "Yeah, I think  
so. What does it mean?"  
  
"Well, from the way you've described the girl, it could  
mean almost anything, Ranma," the doctor said, chuckling a bit.  
"She could be genuinely attracted to you and trying to gain your  
attention, or she could simply enjoy teasing you."  
  
"Nabiki?" Ranma tried to imagine herself with the older  
girl. She shook her head and tried to dislodge the image of Nabiki  
taking tickets while she boredly sat on a chair behind the girl,  
completely nude while perverts like Kunou, Hiroshi and Daisuke  
looked on. "Somehow, I don't think so."  
  
"You should probably spend some more time with her, and  
discuss how you feel," Makuna suggested. "Either let her  
understand that you're not comfortable with the teasing, or come  
to a deeper understanding of what she's trying to accomplish."  
  
"I'm afraid she'll charge me for time," Ranma said. "Or  
start teasin' me again when I don't know what to do about it."  
  
"Well if she does charge you, just refuse to pay," Makuna  
said. "I've dealt with young women like Nabiki before. If you let  
her know that you won't be treated as a commodity, then she'll  
have no choice, will she?"  
  
"I guess. Nabiki's a lot smarter than I am. She always  
manages to get me somehow."  
  
"It surprises me that you think that, Ranma," Makuna-  
sensei replied. "I think you're a very intelligent individual."  
  
"Maybe I'm good at sports and fighting and stuff," Ranma  
said. "But I'm not really that smart. Nabiki always knows exactly  
what to do and what to say to get me. How can I compete with  
that?"  
  
"You pride yourself on your tactical abilities, but what  
you don't seem to realize is that Nabiki is only doing the same  
thing you are, but applying it to a different situation."  
  
"Huh?" Ranma asked.  
  
"In a battle, you look for your opponents' weaknesses and  
exploit them, correct?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"So what has your sister-in-law been doing to you?"  
  
"Well, she waits until I'm not paying attention or until I  
really need help or somethin' and then takes advantage of-- wait a  
second..."  
  
Makuna smiled broadly. "You apply higher tactical  
reasoning to battle and your art. If what you're telling me is  
correct, Nabiki merely applies that same reasoning to social  
relationships, which are really just a different kind of  
conflict."  
  
Ranma was silent for a time.  
  
"Our time is almost up, but before you'd go, I'd like you  
to have this." Makuna-sensei held a paper-wrapped book out to  
Ranma.  
  
Ranma eased open the wrapping and looked inside. She  
blushed profoundly upon seeing the title of the book. "Ah, damn  
it! Now you're teasing me, Doc!"  
  
Makuna laughed again. "Quite on the contrary! While Mr.  
Morris's theories and conclusions tend to be very controversial,  
he is one of the most respected social anthropologists in the  
world. I have all his published books. This is one of my  
favorites. Since you noted an interest in his work, I thought  
you'd like to have it."  
  
Ranma glared at the smiling psychologist darkly, but  
didn't offer the book back. She carefully re-wrapped it so that  
the title didn't show, stood and bowed to the doctor.  
  
As with the last time, Makuna led her to the door of her  
office. Taiyoko, the blonde girl Ranma had last seen at a pizza  
shop, was waiting nervously for her appointment with the doctor.  
  
"I need just a second before I'm ready for you, Taiyoko,"  
Makuna said. "Do you mind waiting just a minute?"  
  
Taiyoko shook her head.  
  
Makuna-sensei smiled and retreated back inside the office.  
  
"Uhh, hey," Ranma said after a few seconds. "I'm sorry if  
I made you mad at the pizza place."  
  
Taiyoko looked up nervously. She opened her mouth as if to  
speak, but then shut it again.  
  
"So... I'll see ya 'round, okay?" Ranma said, stepping  
towards the door.  
  
"...it's okay..." Taiyoko mumbled. "...I just thought..."  
  
"I'm ready now, Taiyoko. You can come back now." Makuna  
said, opening his door.  
  
Taiyoko bolted inside, leaving her curious answer hanging.  
  
Ranma blinked in confusion.  
  
* * *  
  
The next day at school, Ranma was having a little better  
time keeping her eyes in their sockets. She had guiltily spent  
most of the previous evening studying her own copy of  
'Bodywatching' and felt just a little more jaded to the sight of  
flesh or the curves of a body. There was also a little bit more  
analysis to her thoughts. For the first time, she was able to  
realize the subtle psychological connection in her mind between  
the smooth orbs of Hinako-sensei's full bosom and the curves of  
her shapely posterior. It didn't make any less impact on her if  
she stared at it too long, but she was able to keep her mind  
largely *off* the bodies of her classmates and teacher.  
  
After Hinako reverted to chibi-size and left to go teach  
highschool English to some other class, the room descended into  
the usual chaos that marked the between-class breaks.  
  
Ranma pulled out one of her manga, the swords and sorcery  
book and *not* the Utena tankouban, while Hiroshi and Daisuke  
began to page through a sports magazine.  
  
Across the room, Akane, Sayuri, Yuka, and Ukyou were  
taking turns listening to Akane's new CD on Yuka's CD-walkman.  
  
After a few seconds, the classroom door slid open and  
Nabiki sauntered in, a folded note clasped in one hand.  
  
Akane waved, but Nabiki slid up to Ranma's desk and leaned  
dangerously into Ranma's space.  
  
Doing her best not to note that the top button of Nabiki's  
blouse was unbuttoned or that the top of her cleavage was clearly  
visible, Ranma stared defiantly into the girl's eyes, determined  
not to be so cruelly teased.  
  
"What do you want?" Ranma demanded.  
  
"Testy, testy today, are we?" Nabiki asked. "That time of  
the month dear?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"I guess not. Anyway... Kunou-chan has placed a note for  
you in my care. I was going to let you have it for free before you  
started being so moody," Nabiki said, smiling like a reptile the  
entire time.  
  
Ranma snatched the note away before she realized what  
Nabiki said.  
  
"From Kunou?"  
  
Nabiki nodded, standing up and turning so that she was  
sitting casually across the corner of Ranma's desk. "I think we  
may have actually made an impression on the guy."  
  
"I know they've been ice-skating in hell since he started  
leaving me alone," Ranma noted seriously as she unfolded the note.  
  
Ranma adjusted her ball-cap and began to read.  
  
"Dearest Pigtailed-girl," it began. "Having been so  
magnanimously included in your lunch party the previous day, I  
have decided to return such a noble gesture by treating you, the  
beauteous Akane Tendou, and all your friends to a lunch party of  
my own design at Il Cavaliere."  
  
"Ill Cava-huh?" Ranma asked out loud.  
  
Nabiki made a shushing motion with her finger. "Kunou is  
treating us all to lunch at a nice restaurant," she whispered.  
  
"Hey, that's cool!" Ranma said. "Wait a second... I see  
what's going on here. You go tell Kunou that I'm *not* going out  
on a date!"  
  
"I really don't think that's what he wants," Nabiki said  
seriously. "See, he invited all your friends to come as well. We  
usually all go *anyway*, but this time we're invited."  
  
Ranma bit her lip and thought carefully for a second. She  
looked up to examine Nabiki's face for possible signs of deception  
or guile. What she found there was a little bit of excitement  
about getting to eat a nice restaurant, just like Ranma wanted to.  
  
The note went on, instructing Ranma and the others to meet  
by the school gate.  
  
"Okay. I'm game. Tell him he ain't really winning any  
points, though."  
  
"I'll tell him," Nabiki said. "But I don't think you have  
a chance in hell of getting through to him."  
  
* * *  
  
While convincing Ukyou to abandon a lunch period's worth  
of profits to go out to eat was a chore, Ranma had little or no  
trouble convincing Akane and the rest of their friends to take the  
upperclassman up on his generosity.  
  
When the lunch bell rolled around, she and her party  
quickly made their way from the school building where Kunou had  
specified. Shampoo had shown up with a bowl of ramen, but Ranma  
made quick work of that while they were waiting for the  
upperclassman.  
  
Within a few minutes of their arrival, Kunou arrived at  
the gate with the keys.  
  
"Leaving campus for lunch, Kunou-chan?" Nabiki asked,  
eyeing the large, old-fashioned key that locked the gate  
mechanism. "How did you persuade the principal to go along with  
that?"  
  
"Truly, he has no idea what I have plotted for today's  
noon repast," Kunou said seriously. "But such was not my plan.  
First I intended to beat the man senseless should he oppose me  
when I came for the gate key. His secretary, most noble antiquity  
that she is, gave me the key without questioning my motives."  
  
"Trust Kunou to make things straightforward," Akane said,  
sighing.  
  
Kunou proudly led them a short walk to the Il Cavaliere, a  
nice, but not extravagant Italian restaurant in the commercial  
district near Furinkan high. Once inside, the hostess greeted  
them.  
  
"Hello, Kunou-san," the girl said. "Your buffet is waiting  
as per your reservations."  
  
"Buffet?" Ranma asked.  
  
"He's seen you eat, Ranma," Hiroshi noted.  
  
"Verily," Kunou seconded. "Both Akane and the pigtailed-  
girl are highly active and require large quantities of  
sustenance."  
  
Everyone stared blankly at him.  
  
"Is just me," Shampoo asked, unsure of her Japanese, "or  
did stick-boy just make joke?"  
  
"I assure you, noble amazon, that I make no jest. Besides,  
when buying for this large a group, it's often less expensive to  
order buffet service than individual meals."  
  
"Leave the sarcasm to me, Kunou-chan," Nabiki noted,  
clapping the kendoist on the shoulder. "It really doesn't suit  
you."  
  
"Hey, food!" Hiroshi and Daisuke noted at the same time,  
as the group was being led into the dining room.  
  
"Yipee!" Ranma crowed, diving in just in front of the two.  
She almost, but not quite, broke her restrictions on gymnastics to  
do so.  
  
The group filed in line and filled their plates with  
noodles, sauces and other comestibles from the buffet service.  
Soon, they were seated around a large round table, trading jokes  
and eating heartily.  
  
"Almost as good as Shampoo own ramen," the Chinese girl  
complimented.  
  
"Yeah, it's no okonomiyaki, but I suppose it will do in a  
pinch," Ukyou seconded.  
  
"You better not let the chef hear you say that," Yuka  
said. "I understand he's a real psycho about his food."  
  
"What chef isn't a real psycho around here?" Akane asked.  
  
The table descended into silence for several seconds as  
Ukyou and Shampoo stared Akane in the face, growing expressions of  
outrage on their faces.  
  
After not much longer, Akane burst out laughing. The rest  
of the group couldn't help but follow along.  
  
Happily eating her food, and letting the unfamiliar  
surroundings distract her senses from the close proximity of Ukyou  
on one side and Shampoo on the other, Ranma sighed in contentment.  
  
It was odd, but strangely... *nice* to have so calm a  
meal.  
  
For a second, she looked up at Kunou, who was rolling up  
linguini on his fork while listening to one of Nabiki's business  
deals. She caught his eye, but he turned away rapidly.  
  
Ranma blinked, watching the young man. The look on his  
face was surprising. It was neither the cold fury he wore when  
they fought, or expression of idiotic lust he had when chasing  
after her or Akane. If anything, it was... happy.  
  
Like hers.  
  
"You ain't gettin' a date out o' this, Kunou," she said  
out loud after gulping down a mouthful of ravioli. "But... Thanks.  
This is really nice!"  
  
* * *  
  
Later, after school had let out. Ranma found herself in  
the hallway, waiting for Akane, who was on cleanup duty.  
  
She heard the voices around the corner before she saw  
them. Curiosity getting the better of her, Ranma decided to risk  
the wrath of her surgeons and leapt up. She braced her fingers and  
toes against the tiny ledge on top of the door and braced her  
other foot on the light fixture in the center of the ceiling. As  
long as they didn't look up, no one would see her.  
  
"So, Kunou-chan. That was a mighty impressive show you put  
on this afternoon."  
  
"I think not upon it as trying to impress, Nabiki Tendou,  
but as treating those whom I love so deeply with utmost care and  
respect."  
  
Ranma blinked.  
  
"So you're still afraid you're going to break Ranma, huh?"  
  
Kunou looked away guiltily.  
  
"Listen, Kunou-chan. Guilt is nice and all for a little  
bit, but you're making a mistake here. You *didn't* hurt her,  
okay? If anyone's at fault, it's Akane or her lazy ass of a  
father."  
  
"I keep telling myself that," Kunou said quietly. "But was  
it not my arms in which she fell sick? Was it not my floor upon  
which she did bleed? If what you have told me is true, then I  
*cannot* allow myself any other method of action. Until she heals,  
I will keep my distance so as not to further harm the angelic  
one."  
  
Nabiki sighed at length. "Going for the soft-sell, huh?  
I've told you before, Kunou-chan. She *isn't* interested in you."  
  
Kunou grimaced. "I could almost believe that but her words  
that day had the ring of truth, and try as I might, I cannot  
discard those precious seconds I spent with her."  
  
Precious seconds? Ranma's memories of her time at the  
Kunous' place just before she was taken to the hospital were  
vague. She vaguely remembered embracing the man, and she was  
fairly certain that there had been some... *YECH*... kissing. Was  
there more?  
  
"So you'll keep fighting to win them," Nabiki noted dryly.  
"Makes no difference to me of course. You'll keep buying photos  
and I'll keep selling them."  
  
"Nabiki Tendou... Please. If you would. Take no pictures  
of the pigtailed-girl until her hair grows back in," Kunou said  
somberly. "If I have read her correctly, she is most vain, and  
dislikes having such a tarnish on her beauty. I will pay the  
regular amount plus 5 percent, if you agree."  
  
I am not vain, Ranma thought. I just care about how I  
look, is all.  
  
"Ten percent," Nabiki said.  
  
"Done," Kunou conceded. "Now... I must meditate. I must  
have her, but my passions must wait."  
  
"Her?" Nabiki said. "Don't you mean them?"  
  
"Hmm? Oh yes. Akane Tendou and the pigtailed-girl! They  
both shall be mine!"  
  
Why didn't Ranma believe that?  
  
* * *  
  
"So today's the big day, Ranma?" Hiroshi asked a few days  
later, staring in quiet disgust as Ranma ran her hands trough her  
short hair.  
  
The bloody, icky crust which had covered her stitches had  
slowly faded away until all the was left of the incision was a  
dark purple line criss-crossed by the tiny silk threads. She ran  
her fingers over it, doing her best to ignore the urge to scratch.  
They would be gone in a few hours, and she could scratch all she  
wanted then.  
  
Underneath the sutures and through the healing flesh, she  
could feel the bulging line of bone where her skull was knitting.  
  
"Yeah," she said moodily, staring in the mirror. "It won't  
make me look any less like shit, though. My hair is still all lop-  
sided. You'll still be able to see the scar through the peach-fuzz  
here.  
  
Ranma actually growled at the mirror. Things had just been  
making her progressively more and more angry for the last several  
days.  
  
"So cut the other side off short, too," Daisuke suggested.  
It's still pretty long in front. I think it would look good.  
  
The image assailed Ranma. She would have cutely short hair  
on both sides and long bangs in front to hang femininely over her  
eyes.  
  
"Too goddamned girly," she growled. "Damn it! Why is  
everyone pissing me off today?"  
  
"Jeez! Calm down, bud." Hiroshi said, roughly cuffing the  
martial artist on the shoulder. "Don't let it bug you so much! I  
bet you'll feel better once the stitches are out, don't you  
think?"  
  
"Maybe," Ranma said, deflating a little bit. She grimaced,  
feeling slightly ill to her stomach.  
  
She turned to leave the restroom and felt the guys' eyes  
on her as she pulled the Dodgers cap back on.  
  
"And quit staring at my ass, you damn perverts!"  
  
The door slammed loudly behind her.  
  
"Ya know. By my figures, it's been about a month since  
Ranma's surgery." Hiroshi noted quietly.  
  
Daisuke nodded sagely.  
  
"And my sister and mother both get kinda pissy about the  
same time at least once a month."  
  
Daisuke raised one eyebrow. "We could say something about  
it," he said, "if you're thinking what I'm thinking."  
  
"Ranma would kill us both before she realized what she had  
done," Hiroshi said. "Best we let Akane and Nabiki deal with  
this."  
  
"Didn't you say that your mom and your sister get all  
bitchy about the same time?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Then don't you think that--"  
  
"Damn it, Akane! You wanna watch where the hell you're  
going?!" Ranma's high-pitched scream carried into the closed  
bathroom.  
  
"Why don't you watch where you're going, pervert?!" Akane  
screamed back.  
  
"Ladies!" Nabiki bellowed. "If you both don't shut up I'll  
charge you until you wish you had? Do you understand me!?"  
  
"PMS," Hiroshi said quietly, a bead of sweat standing out  
on his forehead. "Gotta be."  
  
"Scary," Daisuke noted.  
  
"God, I feel sorry for Ranma's dad."  
  
"I feel sorry for us if she's not feeling any better  
tomorrow."  
  
* * *  
  
Having her stitches out mollified Ranma somewhat. She was  
still feeling pretty crappy, by the time she got home, however.  
She felt like all eyes were on her, and even chewed out her father  
and Akane's for staring at her breasts even though she realized  
that they weren't.  
  
What really bugged her was the fact that she still wasn't  
sure what Kunou meant the other day. 'Bleeding on my floor' could  
mean a lot of things. Did they...  
  
Had they...  
  
Ranma couldn't bring herself to even think the words.  
  
Her 'Bodywatching' book mentioned the hymen and even had a  
description of where it was located. Ranma knew from a brief self-  
examination when she had last used the rest room that she did not  
have one.  
  
A medical book sitting in Kasumi's bookshelf talked quite  
a bit about a woman's hymen and what it did and did not mean. Lack  
of a hymen from birth was rare, but possible. What was more  
plausible was the fact that many active girls and women  
accidentally broke their own hymen while exercising. Another  
possibility listed mentioned something that Ranma really didn't  
understand. Some girls, the book said, broke their hymens while  
masturbating.  
  
Ranma had heard the term used before, but had no clue what  
it meant. She knew it was vaguely related to the slang 'jack-off'  
that the guys sometimes used, but she really didn't know what that  
meant either.  
  
The last possibility, the one that Ranma was most upset  
about, was the fact that most girls lost their hymens during  
sexual intercourse.  
  
'Humping', Ranma had heard it called. 'Shagging'.  
'Boinking'. 'Doing the Horizontal Tango'.  
  
Fucking.  
  
Sex.  
  
Had Kunou done that to her while she was passed out on his  
floor? Is that why she bled on his floor? Was it because he had  
put... put... *THAT* inside her and tore her hymen? And to think  
that she trusted him to take her out to lunch with all her  
friends. Why that creep was just--  
  
Ranma's train of thought faltered as she felt a bead of  
moisture roll down the inside of her thigh as she paced around her  
room.  
  
"Now what the hell is going on?" She yelled. "Goddamned  
doctor fucked up my brain and now I can't even piss when I want  
to?"  
  
She thrust a hand down her pants and pushed her fingers  
past the sensitive nub that she knew was called a 'clitoris'  
thanks to her book. She pulled it back out, expecting to further  
her humiliation to find it covered in urine.  
  
Instead, it was bloody.  
  
Ranma blinked at her blood-smeared fingers for several  
seconds before wiping them on her shirt and picking Kasumi's  
medical book up again. She paged over a few pages and read for  
several seconds.  
  
Ranma closed the book slowly.  
  
"Oh fuck," she said. "This just takes the whole goddamned  
fucking cake. I might as well bend over and let fuck-head Kunou  
have it any time he fucking wants now!"  
  
She bit her lip and did her level best to keep her raging  
emotions in check.  
  
After several seconds, there was a polite knock on the  
sliding door.  
  
"Go away, Akane! I ain't in the mood for your shit right  
now."  
  
"Ranma," Kasumi scolded as she slid the door open. "That's  
no way to talk even if you are feeling bad."  
  
Ranma blinked in confusion.  
  
Kasumi came into the room carrying a tray with a covered  
bowl on it. She sat it down in front of Ranma, turned and walked  
back to the doorway. This time she carried in a shopping bag and  
the small TV/VCR combo that usually resided in Nabiki's room.  
  
"What--"  
  
Kasumi smiled and held the shopping bag out to Ranma. When  
Ranma took the handles, she pulled out a brightly colored box and  
a package of plain, cotton panties.  
  
Ranma paled.  
  
"This is the brand I use," Kasumi said quietly as she  
unwrapped both the sanitary pads and one of the panties. "I don't  
think they'll work in boxer shorts, but you can try. You take the  
backing off like this," she said, demonstrating as Ranma stared on  
in horror. "And stick it against this part of the panty. This  
thickness lasts four or five hours if you're bleeding really  
heavily."  
  
Ranma collapsed to her knees, feeling her bloody thighs  
squish together.  
  
"Akane and Nabiki both use tampons, but I'm not really  
very comfortable with those," she said. "This is a little easier  
in my opinion, but the tampons might work better with boxer  
shorts."  
  
She handed the modified panty to Ranma who took it and  
stared at it in mortification.  
  
"This ain't right," Ranma said weakly. "I'm a guy. Guys  
ain't supposed to do this."  
  
"You're a boy," Kasumi stated, "who's cursed to be a girl.  
In this case, I think the term 'curse' applies pretty well. Don't  
you?"  
  
Ranma bowed her head, clutching the panty.  
  
"Millions of women deal with this every day," Kasumi said.  
"You know that. I don't believe that Ranma is afraid of something  
that even little girls have to face."  
  
"I ain't." Ranma said. "Ranma Saotome ain't scared o'  
nuthin!"  
  
Tears began to course down the read-head's bowed face.  
Ranma could barely contain her self. She wanted to fight somebody.  
She wanted to scream. She wanted to tear apart her rotten, cursed  
body.  
  
"It's always very hard to bear the first time," Kasumi  
said.  
  
"This... or... or..."  
  
"Kunou-san didn't lay a finger on you," Kasumi said  
quietly. "I know. I was there at the hospital when the two of you  
arrived in the ambulance. You were bleeding from your nose. Kunou-  
san looked so scared and frightened," she said. "That was not the  
face of a young man who had made love to the young woman he loves,  
I'm certain."  
  
"How did you know?" Ranma asked, a shade of relief  
creeping into her voice.  
  
"Nabiki told me you'd been eavesdropping on her," the  
older girl admitted. "And you've been pretty obviously upset about  
something for the last few days. You're screams just now tied  
everything together. The timing was... inconvenient for you, I'll  
admit."  
  
"God, Kasumi. What'll I do?" the girl asked.  
  
"For now, go get cleaned up, and put those on," Kasumi  
said, gesturing to the panties in Ranma's hand. "Afterwards, we'll  
have some red beans and rice. I've even taped the 'Nurse Academy'  
special for us to watch together. Later, you'll just have to learn  
to ride this out, Ranma. I know it's a challenge, but I know you  
can handle it."  
  
Ranma nodded and sighed.  
  
When she returned to the room, she was blushing in anger  
and embarrassment, but didn't say anything else about her  
predicament.  
  
After the show started and Ranma choked down the first few  
bites of red beans and rice, she began to sniffle loudly. After a  
second, Ranma leaned over and bawled her eyes out into Kasumi's  
bosom.  
  
Kasumi smiled sweetly and cradled Ranma as she wept.  
  
-----  
  
~to be continued... 


	6. Fighting

Ranma and his friends belong to Rumiko Takahashi. They're used  
here without permission.  
  
------------------------------  
newRanma 6: Fighting  
  
by Chris Jones  
------------------------------  
  
Akane stared in horror at the sight before her.  
  
*BZZZZ*  
  
It was a sight she had hoped never to see, but was  
nonetheless curious about if it ever did happen.  
  
*BZZZ... ZZZZZ*  
  
She gasped as the floor turned red in front of her.  
  
*BZZZZZzzzzzZZZZZ*  
  
"Ouch. Got my ear," Ranma said.  
  
"Your... your hair, Ranma."  
  
"You like it?"  
  
Ranma had taken Kasumi's electric shears and put the  
longest guard attachment she could on the end. In just a few  
minutes, she had removed most of the hair from her head. Except  
for her long, thick bangs, all the hair on her head was now just a  
few centimeters long. The hair on the side of her head that had  
been operated on had finally grown long enough so that this was  
enough to make it even on both sides.  
  
"I... I..."  
  
"It's kinda girly-lookin' I think," Ranma said. "But I'll  
be damned if I'm gonna keep wearin' that ball-cap."  
  
She ran her hands through her newly short hair. It felt  
odd and strangely light. She reached behind her head to the only  
other part she'd left long at all and quickly tied off a rather  
short, lop-sided pigtail.  
  
She turned to one side and looked in the mirror.  
  
"I look like a complete dork, don't I?" she asked, smiling  
all the while.  
  
"No!" Akane said.  
  
The look was unusual, but exotic rather than odd-looking.  
Ranma's bangs fluttered in the air as the girl moved, surrounding  
her face like a halo. The effect was beautiful, Akane thought.  
When Ranma grinned her usual, rakish grin, the image was... sexy,  
even. It accented her slender neck and slim shoulders in a way  
that made one look at the girl from head to toe before focusing on  
any one area such as the girl's curvy bosom or hips.  
  
She could never, NEVER, tell Ranma that.  
  
"I think it looks okay," Akane said seriously.  
  
"What ever. At least it ain't lopsided any more."  
  
Akane hoped that Ranma would never realize how attractive  
she really was.  
  
* * *  
  
Shampoo and Ukyou were both stunned speechless by Ranma's  
new appearance. They hadn't spoken any at all through lunch at a  
local Thai-food joint.  
  
"Kinda wild," Hiroshi noted. "I like it."  
  
"It's cute," Nabiki agreed. "I think Kunou-chan likes it."  
  
Kunou had been silent all through lunch, even when he  
snatched the ticket before anyone else could pay.  
  
For the first time since actually seeing Ranma's new  
haircut, he opened his mouth. "Nabiki Tendou speaks truly. It is a  
flattering style."  
  
"It ain't no big deal," Ranma said, blushing a little bit.  
She was uncomfortable with the attention, and was starting to wish  
that she had worn the damn cap.  
  
There was a chapter in the 'Bodywatching' book that talked  
about heads and hair. Ranma had skimmed over it briefly in favor  
some of the other body parts, but was now wishing she had examined  
it a little more in depth. She promised herself that she would  
when she got home. Was there something secret about hair that made  
it more interesting that other parts of the body?  
  
"It's certainly daring," Yuka noted.  
  
Akane shook her head at the other girl, trying to get her  
to stop.  
  
"I mean, it really brings out your eyes."  
  
"Wonderful..." Ranma complained, her embarrassment  
thickening.  
  
"I mean--"  
  
"ALOHA!" A loudspeaker rang out just as Kunou was about to  
open the school's front gate to get them back inside, cutting off  
Yuka's comment.  
  
"We're busted," Hiroshi noted sourly.  
  
"Hello, all you naughty keiki!" the principal exclaimed as  
he leapt down from the top of the wall. He was carrying a  
megaphone in one hand and a pair of barber's shears in the other.  
"You been very naughty, sneaking off during lunch hour! We have a  
saying on de islands--"  
  
"Which I bet you just made up," Ranma interjected.  
  
"De student who sneaks out come back widdout de hair!"  
  
Yuka and Sayuri both screamed, their hands going to their  
lochs. Yuka had suffered one of the principal's bowl-cuts before  
and was not eager to repeat the experience.  
  
"Hold thine instrument of evil, foul educator!" Kunou  
exclaimed, bringing his bokken to bear. He stepped in front of  
Ranma to shield her from the principal.  
  
"Keiki... My own son! You oppose you papa? You flesh and  
blood? WAAAH!"  
  
"Why don't you just leave us alone, you old freak!" Akane  
shouted angrily.  
  
"Get outta the way, Kunou," Ranma declared, roughly  
shoving the kendoist aside. "You wanna cut my hair?" she asked.  
"Go ahead."  
  
"But, pigtailed girl," Kunou said in concern. "You  
cannot--"  
  
The principal was staring at Ranma's hair in shock. The  
clippers clattered loosely to the ground.  
  
Behind him, Nabiki had just managed to get the gate open  
and was gesturing for the rest of them to hurry inside.  
  
Ranma stared darkly at the principal as he stood in front  
of her, his eyes watering.  
  
"Well, are you gonna shave my head, or what?" She  
demanded.  
  
"YOU CUT IT ALL OFF!!!" the principal wailed. He turned  
and ran back for the building, weeping into one arm.  
  
"Saotome school of non-aggressive combat, 2," Ranma  
declared. "Principal Kunou, Nada."  
  
* * *  
  
Ranma and her friends didn't get off scot-free. They all  
had to do water torture punishment for two periods outside the  
library as per a hastily worded memo from the principal's office.  
'Carry the buckets' quickly turned into a rag on the principal  
session with Ranma and Nabiki, who had never actually had to do  
water torture before, leading the call.  
  
"What I'd really like to know," Nabiki complained bitterly  
despite the fact that she had already conned Kunou into carrying  
both her buckets, "Is why the man has such a fetish for short  
hair?"  
  
"Nabiki!" Akane shouted.  
  
"It's not a dirty word, Akane. I'm serious. What drives  
him?"  
  
"It's madness," Kunou said darkly. "It infects my whole  
family."  
  
"That sounds real good coming from you, Sempai," Ranma  
noted darkly. In her irritation, she had simply set the buckets  
down and was slouching against the wall.  
  
Kunou 'hmphed' and turned back to the group. "My father  
has always been first to wield the clippers. Truly monstrous  
depredations have been performed on my own scalp and Kodachi's...  
well, let's just say I'm glad he left when he did, because my  
twisted sister's self-esteem could not have handled the blows it  
would have received if he had been allowed to style her hair  
during junior-high school."  
  
"Maybe it really is a fetish," Daisuke noted. "Like vinyl  
clothes or body-piercing. Maybe the principal gets off on seeing  
people with short hair."  
  
"That's gross, Dai," Hiroshi said. "That's really gross."  
  
Shampoo, who was not subject to the punishment but had  
followed the group in anyway looked around in mock nervousness.  
  
"Shampoo see bald people..." she stage-whispered.  
  
The group dissolved into giggles and outright laughter.  
  
"Let's cut the noise out there, children!" the librarian  
complained through the closed doorway. "This is a school, not a  
social club!"  
  
"Man, we oughtta do something!" Ukyou complained bitterly.  
"I bet no other school has to put up with this kind of crap! Why  
couldn't this have been calm and normal like my last school?"  
  
"Normal?" Nabiki chided. "With at least two confirmed  
transvestites roaming the halls?"  
  
"Well..."  
  
"We *did* break the rules, after all," Akane said sadly.  
"We did have this coming to us."  
  
"If it were just a case of we broke the rules and gotta do  
the time, that'd be cool," Ranma said, "But this is a grudge. The  
principal don't like us, so he's makin' sure we suffer. We outta  
just leave," the girl suggested. "Just walk out and not come  
back."  
  
"If a man owes you money and will not pay, he is in  
trouble," Nabiki said sagely. "If many men owe you money and will  
not pay, you are in trouble."  
  
"She's right. Man, if we could get *everyone* to leave  
that would be cool," Hiroshi noted.  
  
Sayuri held a hand to her mouth. "That's awful!" she said.  
"Everyone would get in trouble."  
  
"At this school?" Ukyou asked. "Yeah, right. It's more  
like we'd get the principal in trouble. Wouldn't that be great?"  
  
"'Twouldst be wonderful indeed if we could run the madman  
off to the heathen wastes again," Kunou grumbled.  
  
"I'll say," Ranma agreed. "Oh well... Hey, it's almost  
two-thirty. We better get back to class."  
  
* * *  
  
Makuna-sensei was not a lot of help about the principal.  
Rather than commenting on any of the incidents Ranma related to  
him, he suggested that Ranma think about how she felt about the  
principal, and even try to chat rationally with the man.  
  
Ranma walked out into the waiting room grumbling darkly  
about the bad habits of psychologists.  
  
Outside, the girl Ranma had come to know purely in  
passing, Taiyoko, looked up. As usual, her face was filled with  
anxiety and more than a little fear.  
  
"Yo," Ranma greeted her.  
  
Ranma intended to wave and walk past since the girl seemed  
so uncomfortable with her presence, but was taken aback with the  
expression Taiyoko gave her.  
  
"What?!" Ranma demanded, looking around herself in shock,  
trying to figure out what was wrong.  
  
"Y-your hair..." Taiyoko whispered. "It's..."  
  
"Oh. Yeah," Ranma said, rolling her eyes. "I cut it this  
morning."  
  
"Y-you-you're very beautiful," Taiyoko stammered.  
  
Ranma blinked in surprised. "What?" she asked.  
  
Taikyoko's face turned bright red. She leapt up from the  
seat and ran into the doctor's office.  
  
Ranma blinked again, unsure of what had just happened. She  
knew she looked good, but what would cause the girl to react so  
strongly to her presence?  
  
* * *  
  
Later that afternoon, after Ranma had returned to the  
Tendou Dojo, she was still rather disgruntled. Why did the  
principal single her and her friends out? It wasn't like she had  
done anything any of the other students hadn't.  
  
Well, as Makuna-sensei had politely pointed out, she did  
regularly flaunt the school dress code. And she interrupted class  
all the time. And she slept through all the school assemblies.  
And...  
  
Okay, she realized, maybe she did tend to cause more  
problems and than some of the other students. Before the principal  
had shown up, she thought had come to a sort of equilibrium with  
the school administration. They didn't bother her and she did her  
best not to bother them. It worked out perfectly well up until the  
loony had shown up.  
  
As she grumbled about her problems, Ranma walked through  
the Tendous' front room and noticed her father sitting on the  
verandah, sipping a beer and staring out at the back yard.  
  
Due to the lack of fighting as imposed by doctors' orders,  
Ranma had had very little contact with the man since her surgery.  
She hadn't realized just how little contact they had outside of  
training. When she removed that part of their relationship, she  
was surprised at how little was left.  
  
The old man had been pissing her off anyway. He had been  
moping around like it had been *his* head that had been hacked on.  
  
"Hello boy," Genma greeted his child.  
  
"Hey," Ranma answered.  
  
Genma took a long draw off of his beer and looked back out  
over the yard.  
  
Ranma plopped down next to her father and grumpily looked  
out over the yard to figure out what her father was staring at.  
  
It was a breezy day, but not unduly windy, so Nodoka and  
Kasumi were both behind the house, efficiently hanging laundry out  
to dry.  
  
Nodoka was wearing her kimono, but Kasumi was wearing a  
light cotton dress that twisted and flowed around her in the  
breeze. The thin fabric alternately billowed away from her body  
and snapped tightly against it, displaying the girl's curves and  
nigh-perfect proportions.  
  
Both women had their hair tied back behind them in buns,  
but stray stands of hair swirled around them. The laundry,  
fastened securely to the clothes-lines, snapped and swirled.  
Nodoka and Kasumi, working quickly and expertly, almost seemed to  
dance in and out of the swirling morass of colors.  
  
Ranma found herself breathless at the unintentional beauty  
of the scene.  
  
"Kasumi will make some man a very fine wife some day,"  
Genma said quietly.  
  
"Pops?"  
  
Genma winked at Ranma. "Let's just say I'm partial to  
buns."  
  
Ranma blinked, trying to figure out what her father meant.  
  
* * *  
  
"ATTENTION ALL YOU BAD STUDENTS!" the principal's voice  
announced over the intercom. "Dey been some very bad keiki trying  
to sneak out during lunch hour. Cause Kahuna can't be havin' with  
all dat, we gonna lock down da campus during lunch! No students  
leave dey classroom during lunch. Dat mean no sandwich line and no  
drink line! Have a wonderful day!"  
  
A chorus of moans and groans went up around Ranma, as well  
as more than a few angry comments. Ranma glared back behind her at  
one of the guys in her class who was starting to get a little  
personal with his insults.  
  
"This is bad," Ukyou complained out loud. "He's going to  
really let us have it if we don't do something."  
  
"What are we going to do?" Hiroshi asked out loud as the  
students who had brought their lunches pulled them out and began  
to eat. "We can't just... I dunno."  
  
Hinako was busy licking a lollipop and reading a  
storybook, so Ranma turned around in her seat to face the others.  
"Why not?" she asked. "We've been breaking the rules all along  
anyway. What's it going to cost us that we ain't already paying?"  
  
"We could get thrown out of school, Ranma!" Akane warned.  
  
Ranma's eyes narrowed. "Maybe. Maybe not."  
  
"What are you thinking, Ran-chan?" Ukyou said.  
  
"Even if I can't fight, I've got a few ideas about how to  
beat this," Ranma said. "But I think I need to talk to Nabiki for  
this--"  
  
The classroom door slid open, allowing Nabiki and Kunou to  
step inside.  
  
"How did you get out of your class, 'Nee-chan?" Akane  
asked.  
  
Nabiki rolled her eyes. "Does it matter?" she asked. "Do  
you still want to go to lunch today?"  
  
"We could," Ranma said, gesturing at Hinako, who was so  
involved in 'The Little Salaryman that Could' that she had  
completely dissociated from the rest of the class. "But that's  
what he's expectin' us to do."  
  
"The pigtailed girl speaks truly," Kunou agreed. "My  
dastardly father would not make such a pronouncement unless he  
planned to enforce it by hook or by crook."  
  
"I think we can do something, but Akane's right," Ranma  
said. "We're getting real close to the point where we can get in  
more trouble than just doin' bucket duty."  
  
The rest of their usual lunch group had already crowded  
around Ranma, but she put the proximity out of her mind and began  
to outline her plans.  
  
Nabiki's expression was troubled. She bit her lip.  
"Dangerous, Saotome. Very dangerous. It could blow up in our  
faces."  
  
"It could also hammer the final nail into the man's  
coffin," Kunou declared. "Even if it did not come from the razor-  
sharp mind of the pigtailed girl, I would be inclined to follow  
this plan."  
  
"But you'd follow any plan, Kunou-chan," Nabiki said.  
"Let's do it like this instead." She explained her revision upon  
the plan.  
  
"Nabiki Tendou's plan has merit," Kunou said, "But  
creating a riot to cover our actions as she proposes would only  
needlessly endanger the pigtailed-girl's well being. Instead, let  
us do this." Kunou spoke at some length. While it was difficult to  
extract meaning from his flowery speech, Ranma began to grin  
wickedly.  
  
"I like it!" she said.  
  
"One more thing," Nabiki said. "We need something to back  
us up."  
  
"Let us say that my father is a most evil man," Kunou said  
coldly. "Let all who aid us say that indeed the principal of  
Furinkan High is a pervert and a fetishist of the highest degree.  
Only then will our most noble rebellion be seen in the light it  
truly deserves."  
  
The grins faded around the group, but those around Ranma  
and Kunou knew that they were stuck with it now. If they ever  
wanted to be free of the man, they would have to act.  
  
* * *  
  
After lunch, Hiroshi, Daisuke and Ranma had assembled  
fifty or sixty of their male classmates in the boys' locker room.  
Ranma felt uncomfortable with the dozens and dozens of eyes  
lingering upon her body, but took solace in the fact that they all  
had a pretty good idea of why they were there.  
  
It wasn't to look at a pretty girl.  
  
"So, Ranma," one of them called out. "What'cha gonna do  
about the principal."  
  
"I can't fight him," Ranma said. "Not injured like I am.  
Instead, we've got to do something more drastic."  
  
"More drastic like what?" another boy asked.  
  
"I'll tell you," Ranma said. "We've got a plan. It's like  
this..."  
  
* * *  
  
"I'll tell you for five hundred yen apiece," Nabiki said.  
  
The girls around her all began to rummage around in their  
purses and pockets. Sayuri, Yuka and Akane all began to collect  
the fees while the group of girls began to press in around Nabiki  
to hear her pronouncement.  
  
"We're being taken advantage of, ladies," she said. "We're  
being sexually exploited and not doing a thing about it."  
  
"Is someone taking ecchi pictures again?" one girl asked  
anxiously.  
  
"At this school?" another said darkly. "We already knew we  
were being exploited, Nabiki. If it's not voyeurs in the locker  
room, it's that freaky panty-thief."  
  
"Ah, but there's a threat you may not be aware of," Nabiki  
explained. "How many bowl cuts are we going to endure before  
everyone realizes that the principal is a hair fetishist."  
  
A gasp went up from all around the restroom.  
  
* * *  
  
"He gets off on shaving our heads?" a uniformed kendoist  
cried out. His hand went to his bald head, and he began to tremble  
in revulsion.  
  
"Verily," Kunou spat out. "That twisted man who is no man  
has perpetrated his depredations long enough. If not the onus of  
unbearable rule and regulation is enough to move you, the assault  
on your manhood should rouse all to action."  
  
"Why should we believe you?" another bald boy cried.  
  
"Have I not lived with the man?" Kunou asked. "Have I not  
suffered vile sling and arrow since the day I was born? Have I not  
fought alongside you at each and every opportunity to drive the  
foul demon away?"  
  
The practice room, full of kendoists and members of all  
the other sports teams, was silent.  
  
Kunou drew his bokken and leveled it at the captain of the  
baseball team.  
  
"Takeshi Tanaka," he named the boy. "You yourself have  
suffered the agony of humiliation at my father's hands."  
  
Takeshi pulled off his ball cap to reveal that he was  
indeed nearly bald.  
  
"And your younger sister attends this selfsame school!"  
Kunou declared. "Are you such a man that you will allow that...  
that... BEAST to slake his vile lusts upon her virgin lochs?"  
  
"Never!" Takeshi cried out, tears coursing freely down his  
face.  
  
"Every one of us stands to see our dignity and honor  
diminish as long as the thing that calls itself my father is  
allowed to hold sway at this institution. We have everything to  
lose by not acting. Act as you will," Kunou said, turning his back  
on the crowd.  
  
"But, Kunou-sempai!" one of the younger soccer-team  
members asked. "What can we do?"  
  
"There is a plan in the making," Kunou said, "but it is  
not without risk. I cannot ask you to join, and yet I cannot  
envision a man who would allow these horrors to continue err he  
had a choice. Who will make the choice to follow me?"  
  
"I will!" Takeshi, the baseball team captain declared,  
clenching his fist in the air.  
  
"Tell us what to do!" Another cried out.  
  
"Very well," Kunou said. "If you will accept the risk, you  
may seek the rewards of heaven. This, then, is our plan of  
attack..."  
  
* * *  
  
The teachers all knew that something was up. There was no  
way that the 700 odd students at the school could keep it  
completely under their hats. Whispered conversations were stopped  
in mid sentence if anyone approached and an air of defiance had  
sprung up. Angry stares and whispered insults began to rain down  
upon the most hated of Furinkan's teachers.  
  
Miyuki Sipuru, first-year geometry teacher, decided not to  
comment since she suspected that whatever was happening was  
directed at the principal. When she first started at the school,  
she got a 'regulation' bowl-cut before ever meeting the man who  
had written the regulations. Perhaps if the students' plan was  
spectacular enough, she thought as she drew on the board, then the  
principal would reconsider his insane rules.  
  
"So if you take the cosine of the arc like this and--"  
  
Hearing the classroom door click behind her, she turned  
around.  
  
Her classroom was empty.  
  
Miyuki stared in shock. Surely they wouldn't... Had they?  
Could they?  
  
* * *  
  
"Late in the war, American planes began to firebomb the  
city of Tokyo," the history teacher said. "At the same time..."  
  
Ranma waited until the teacher's back was turned to the  
class. Silently, she rose from her seat and smiled at everyone  
around her. They needed a little leadership and a *lot* of  
encouragement to go along, but Ranma thought that that wouldn't be  
a problem.  
  
On cat-like feet, she made her way over to the open window  
and climbed through it. It was true that such an act pretty  
soundly broke her medical restrictions, but Ranma was feeling  
pretty rebellious. It wouldn't hurt her to get a *little* bit of  
excitement. Effortlessly, she began to shimmy down a drain pipe to  
the ground.  
  
The history teacher turned around, hearing the amazed  
whispers behind him.  
  
"Where on Earth is Saotome?" he demanded.  
  
"Uhh... I think he had a doctors' appointment after  
lunch," Hiroshi answered.  
  
"Hmmm... I could have sworn that-- Oh well."  
  
He turned back to the board and began to write.  
  
"So we can assume that the Americans had developed and  
tested the first nuclear device in the southwest United States  
only a few weeks before the twin bombings on these cities. How  
many died in the initial blast? Tendou?"  
  
He turned around to get his answer from the girl he just  
quizzed.  
  
He was surprised to see her seat sitting empty.  
  
"Wasn't Akane Tendou here just a second ago?"  
  
"Uhhh... I think that she's at the doctor with Ranma,"  
Daisuke answered.  
  
"Honda then..." the teacher said, looking around for  
Hiroshi. "Wasn't Hiroshi Honda just here?"  
  
"I don't think so," One of the girls answered, fighting to  
keep a smirk off her face. "He's sick today."  
  
"Hmm... people are disappearing on me today," the teacher  
said, feeling the need to take a draw off of the flask hidden in  
his briefcase. "Well, at any rate, the initial damage estimates  
can be found here and here. If you'll look at this diagram, you'll  
see that..."  
  
The rustle began almost as soon as his back was turned. He  
whipped back around to see what was happening, but only Hikaru  
Gosunkuji was there among a sea of empty desks to return his  
stare.  
  
Hikaru raised his hand politely. "Can I go to the  
bathroom?" the boy asked.  
  
* * *  
  
Nabiki felt nervous as she waited outside the school gates  
with the first dozen or so walkouts. She still had reservations  
about what was happening despite Ranma's and Kunou's careful  
planning. When her dozen doubled, she felt a little less nervous.  
When Kunou came out of the athletics wing leading most of the  
school's athletics teams in his wake, she started to get the heady  
feeling of victory.  
  
Ranma and Akane appeared a few seconds later leading  
another sixty or seventy students behind them. Hiroshi and Daisuke  
were with them. Sayuri and Yuka were directing the first year  
students and providing encouragement for some of the more nervous  
members of the protest.  
  
Ukyou had cleared out the home-ec wing and was leading  
dozens of girls who were ladened down with 'refreshments' for the  
protestors.  
  
Ranma was grinning like a maniac by the time she reached  
the gate.  
  
"It's gonna work!" the redhead cried. "Everybody's  
leaving!"  
  
"Let's just see what happens when they all start going  
home," Nabiki said as the noise level began to rise. "We'll know  
tomorrow wether we've won or not."  
  
Ranma nodded, although Nabiki was having serious problems  
keeping the grin off her face.  
  
Akane was clinging to Ranma's arm with excitement and the  
thrill of victory. The redhead didn't even seem to notice.  
  
Ukyou noticed and glared daggers at Akane's back.  
  
"This is great!" Akane said. "We've finally shown that  
nutcase that we're not going to deal with his weirdness any more."  
  
"Yeah," Ranma said. Something began to eat at her,  
however. Something didn't feel right. Had they truly done the  
right thing by protesting in such a manner? Ranma began to analyze  
what they had just done again. It seemed like they had done the  
honorable thing.  
  
Having had a snack after winning their freedom, the  
students were beginning to disperse.  
  
"We have liberated the school," Kunou declared. "The  
goddess of justice smiles warmly upon us today."  
  
"Let's all get out of here, then," Ukyou said. "I'll open  
Ucchan's early so we can regroup there."  
  
"We'll come," Ranma said, salivating at the thought of  
free okonomiyaki. "You wanna come, Sempai?"  
  
"Nay," Kunou declined. "For I alone must remain here to  
explain what has happened to that man."  
  
"Kunou-chan..." Nabiki said in surprise. "Why? Are you  
sure?"  
  
"Do I not live with the man?" Kunou said, echoing his  
earlier statements. "Everyone here may escape his torments in the  
safety of the outside world. Our homes are safe havens from his  
depredations... all except mine. He must know the crime for which  
he is being punished, or there is no true justice. Sadly, I alone  
am most suited to tell him."  
  
"Kunou-sempai," Akane breathed in surprise.  
  
"I must deal with him," Kunou said sharply. "If for no  
other reason than to hammer this lesson into his skull. I do not  
expect that I will be going home anytime soon. 'Tis a far better  
thing I do...'"  
  
"Well, if you're sure," Akane said, walking off with the  
others. "Hurry if you can. We'll all be at Ucchan's for a while."  
  
Kunou nodded, but his forced grin held no hope.  
  
After a few seconds, Ranma broke away from the group.  
  
"What's up, Saotome?" Hiroshi asked.  
  
"I gotta go check on something," she said, a hint of  
anxiousness entering her voice. She broke away from the group  
before anyone could protest.  
  
"She's worried about Kunou?" Ukyou asked in surprise.  
  
"Ranma's been... different lately," Nabiki sighed.  
  
Akane started to fret. It couldn't be that her fears were  
coming true, could it? Was Ranma starting to... care... about  
Kunou? Surely not...  
  
* * *  
  
"Why on earth are you home so early?" Takeshi Tanaka's  
mother asked of him and his sister.  
  
"Mother," the team captain addressed her formally, "we  
came home because we were being taken advantage of at school."  
  
"What?" the older woman asked in surprise.  
  
"It's the loony principal!" his little sister exclaimed.  
"He's been trying to force us all to cut our hair. We all think  
it's because he's a pervert and wants to take advantage of us."  
  
"Principal Kunou?" their mother asked. "Are you sure?"  
  
Takeshi pulled his ball cap off. "I didn't get my hair cut  
like this voluntarily," he complained.  
  
The Tanakas' mother began to shake in outrage. How dare a  
man, any man, molest her children so?!  
  
After confirming the story from her children and getting  
more details, she reached for the phone and dialed a number.  
  
"Tokyo Police Department, Nerima Ward," the polite  
receptionist answered. "Can I help you?"  
  
"This is Mari Tanaka. I need to speak to my husband,  
please."  
  
"I'm afraid that Captain Tanaka's not available right  
now," the receptionist informed her after just a second.  
  
"I need you to interrupt him them. This is an emergency,"  
Mari said.  
  
* * *  
  
By the time the phone calls started the pour in, the  
principal was wandering the halls, not believing what he was  
seeing. He stared around about himself in shock. Only a few of the  
teachers had seen fit to stay after the students had walked out,  
but they couldn't meet his gaze.  
  
"Why?" he called out loud. No one was there to answer him.  
  
Did they really hate him that much?  
  
Eventually, shambling aimlessly through the hallways, he  
made his way to the Kendo club's room.  
  
Tatewaki was sitting in a lotus position in the center of  
the floor, his eyes closed and his bokken balanced across his  
knees.  
  
"Tacchi... Tacchi didn't leave me!" the principal  
exclaimed. "You such a good keiki! Lookin' out fo' you papa."  
  
"I have not left simply by the merit of the fact that  
there is no where I can truly escape," the kendoist said, not  
bothering to open his eyes.  
  
"What you talkin' bout, Keiki?" the principal asked  
dubiously.  
  
"Is it not obvious?" Tatewaki said. "Do you not see that  
the entire student body has profoundly rejected your evil? Are you  
so incapable of accepting reality that you do not realize that  
this is all your own doing?"  
  
"Tacchi..."  
  
"Quiet, oh father of mine. I have tired of your abuse, and  
I refuse to stand for it any more."  
  
"I never abused you!" the principal shouted.  
  
"Does not a child need its dignity?" Kunou asked. "Does  
not a child need a parent that he or she can run to in times of  
trouble and strife? Does not a child need a protector? A  
confidant? A priest-confessor? You cry that you are not guilty of  
abuse, yet I don't remember a father who would have known if his  
son was routinely beaten by the upperclassmen in grade school. I  
don't remember a father who would have known if his daughter lived  
in fear of molestation from the power-mad priests in junior-high."  
  
"Tacchi... why didn't you say somethin'?"  
  
"I did," Tatewaki responded. "And you ignored me. How did  
you put it? A 'brudda have to be strong'? I endured being beaten  
for almost two years, father.  
  
"And as for Kodachi, well, the only person she had to tell  
that she was being stalked was myself. Her father *should* have  
made a complaint to his cronies in the Ministry of Education when  
his daughter's panties and leotard were stolen. He should have  
seen to the priest's dismissal or even his arrest when the man was  
caught taking pictures inside his daughter's shower stall. When  
the man cornered her in the attic of that idiotic school and tried  
to rape her, her father should have been there to save her.  
Instead, she had to settle for watching me beat him senseless with  
a wooden stick."  
  
"I-- I didn't know," the principal said weakly.  
  
"HOW COULD YOU HAVE KNOWN!?" Kunou demanded angrily. "You  
abandoned us and flew away to Hawaii to get a tan! Do you know how  
humiliating it was to have the police tell me to get my father to  
call back when I tried to report that my sister was being  
molested? Do you?! Do you know how much you have allowed your  
daughter's sanity to be damaged? Well?!"  
  
The principal was speechless, staring at the floor in  
shock.  
  
"At first I was overjoyed to learn that my father had  
returned from his hideaway to rejoin his oh-so dysfunctional  
family. Then I was horrified to learn that you had become this...  
this perverted mockery of a man. You are worse than those who beat  
me and just as bad as the man who tormented your daughter. I hope  
you're quite pleased with yourself, Father," Kunou said, saying  
the last word like it was an epithet. "Soon, I suspect, all the  
world will know of your evils. When that time comes, when you  
stumble through the streets with a cross on your back and all  
around jeer rudely at your humble state, remember that it was your  
son who helped put you there."  
  
Tatewaki opened his eyes and rolled effortlessly onto his  
feet.  
  
The principal collapsed, dropping to his knees.  
  
"Good bye, Father. I hope I don't see you again," the  
kendoist said before propping his bokken against his shoulder and  
striding from the room.  
  
Just outside the kendo room, Kunou nodded once to Ranma,  
who had overheard everything. She covered her mouth in shock and  
surprise.  
  
Inside, they could hear the principal begin to weep.  
  
"Speak not of this, noble pigtailed-girl," Kunou  
whispered, "for it was not something that I wished to share with  
anyone but him. Instead, think of mine and my sister's dignity. We  
have some small madness between us I fear, but we must maintain a  
thin illusion of normalcy lest we fall to complete and utter  
insanity."  
  
"I... I understand," Ranma whispered, gulping at the  
kendoist's rare self-honesty.  
  
"Come," Kunou said. "Let us away to yon restaurant so that  
we may forget this horrible scene."  
  
* * *  
  
"Akane! Nabiki! Ranma!" Kasumi exclaimed when the three  
returned home from Ucchan's. "Where have you been?"  
  
"At the restaurant," Nabiki answered. "Why?"  
  
"Were you part of the walkout?" Kasumi asked. Soun, Genma,  
and Nodoka came and stood behind her upon hearing the three enter  
the house.  
  
Ranma bit her lip. They already knew?  
  
"Uh, we kinda organized the walkout," Ranma said  
sheepishly. "We got pretty tired of the principal and all his  
crap."  
  
"Oh?" Soun asked. "So... you led... that?"  
  
"What's the big deal?" Akane said. "There have been school  
protests before, haven't there?"  
  
"Not like this," Genma said. "You haven't heard, have  
you?"  
  
"Heard what?" Ranma asked.  
  
"It seems that Principal Kunou has been sacked," Soun  
explained. "It's on the national news. He's being investigated for  
inappropriate sexual conduct with some of the students by the  
Ministry of Education."  
  
"The National News?!" Nabiki cried. She ran into the front  
room and turned the television on. Sure enough, after tuning to  
the twenty-four hour news network, a picture of a man who looked  
like Principal Kunou without a tan was displayed on television.  
  
"Were any of you molested?" Nodoka asked the two girls in  
concern. "Were either of you hurt?"  
  
"Well," Nabiki said. "He tied Akane up once."  
  
"That was just a stunt, wasn't it?" Akane asked, confusion  
and fear crossing her face.  
  
"There's something else," Nabiki said, listening to the  
broadcast. "It seems that there might have been some misconduct  
before he left for Hawaii the last time. They're talking about  
filing criminal charges."  
  
"You're kidding!" Ranma said, incredulity growing on her  
face. "Right?"  
  
Nabiki shook her head. "I think we may have gotten out  
just in time."  
  
* * *  
  
Ranma was sick to her stomach. She never meant it to go  
this far. Everything felt wrong. As bad as he was, surely... Did  
he? Could he? Guilt and uncertainty began to assail Ranma. She  
slept very poorly.  
  
Almost all the students returned to school the next day  
despite the fact that there were police and news crews waiting in  
front of the building. The police held the legitimate journalists  
and the paparazzi back while the students nervously made their way  
inside.  
  
Ranma split up from Akane and Nabiki as soon as the three  
entered the building and sought out the principal's office. She  
walked past the now-empty secretary's desk and threw open the door  
to the office, expecting to find the man inside with a ukulele and  
some palm trees.  
  
The trees were gone. So was the sand, crabs, and pumice  
boulders that had been scattered around. The ocean-print wallpaper  
had been roughly torn away from the walls and stuffed into the  
trashcan next to the now-bare desk in the center of the office.  
  
The only thing on the desk was a folded note.  
  
'Gone to Hawaii. Back... whenever. - Headmaster'  
  
"It's better this way," Kunou said, stepping into the  
office behind her.  
  
Akane and Nabiki were with him. "Maybe it is better,  
Ranma," Akane said. "If he really was... doing that."  
  
"Was he?" Ranma asked.  
  
"What?" Nabiki asked. "Acting like a looney?"  
  
"No!" Ranma shouted, uncertain of her feelings. "Did he  
really molest people? Was it really some sexual thrill for him?"  
she asked. Ranma's words indicated her uncertainty. She really  
didn't know what to think. "Akane, do you really think he got off  
on tying you up that time?"  
  
"I... don't know. It was weird and I was angry about it  
but..."  
  
"Aren't his other misdeeds enough to warrant this,  
Pigtailed-girl?" Kunou asked. "Have you forgotten the mistreatment  
you suffered at his hands?"  
  
"I don't know," Ranma shouted, running from the room.  
  
Ranma fled the school. After a few minutes of running  
aimlessly, feeling guilt and uncertainty piling up upon her, she  
realized where she had to go.  
  
She had to get both sides of the story.  
  
It was surprisingly easy to track down what flights were  
leaving for Hawaii and from what gate once she got off the train  
to Narita. The baggage attendants and counter clerks were helpful  
and polite in helping her find the appropriate place.  
  
Eventually, she came upon the terminal area she was  
looking for.  
  
It took Ranma several minutes to actually recognize the  
man for who he was once she found him. He was dressed in wrinkled  
business clothes and had lost the plastic palm tree he usually  
wore in his hair at some point. His sunglasses were gone, but that  
didn't stop Ranma from noting the man's deep tan.  
  
He looked like hell, Ranma thought. He looked a lot like  
the picture they had shown on the news the previous night.  
  
He averted his eyes from the girl as she approached.  
  
"You're goin' back to Hawaii."  
  
"Yah," the principal answered in his fake accent. "De  
islands always be nice to me. Never gotta explain myself there."  
  
Ranma winced.  
  
"Why?" She finally asked.  
  
"Why what?" The principal quipped back.  
  
"Why all of it?" she asked in irritation. "The haircuts,  
the lunch thing, the weird rules. Why all the accusations? Did you  
really..." Ranma gulped. "Did you really... "  
  
"No," Kunou said. "Me ain't never done anytin' like dat to  
boy or girl," the principal said. "De rules... de rules just gone  
too far this time."  
  
"What do you mean, too far?"  
  
The principal inhaled deeply. "Siddown here, Keiki. Let  
you headmaster tell you a story."  
  
Nervously, Ranma sat down in the uncomfortable airport  
lounge chair next to the principal and waited for the other shoe  
to drop.  
  
While the shoe didn't drop, the principal's faux accent  
did.  
  
"It was about ten years ago," the principal began. Ranma  
was startled at his voice, which was suddenly surprisingly clear  
and intelligent-sounding. "I had just finished my doctorate in  
education. Tacchi and Kocchi were both in good schools. I was  
happy and rich, and then my wife died."  
  
Ranma did her best to keep silent, but couldn't help  
herself. "I'm sorry," she whispered.  
  
The elder Kunou shrugged. "It's been a long time. I still  
miss her, but... it's 'water under the bridge'," he finished in  
English. "There have even been a few women since, although some  
were not very good choices. I'll admit to being crazy sometimes. A  
lot crazy, some of the time. Your father-in-law. He lost his wife,  
and he's a little crazy sometimes, right?"  
  
Ranma nodded in agreement.  
  
"My wife... she had the shortest, most beautiful hair. She  
always wore it just like I like it. And when she was gone, I found  
myself looking at women and girls who had hair like she did. I bet  
you think it's funny the big pervert Kahuna has a 'hair fetish',  
ne, Keiki?"  
  
Ranma winced, a little ashamed of the phrase she and the  
others had used so frequently the previous day.  
  
"Some men like lingerie. Some like athletic women. Tacchi  
seems to like anything in a skirt. For me, it was hair. There was  
this girl at Furinkan... oh, about the time you were in seventh  
grade probably. She looked a lot my wife, even down to the short  
hair. It was wrong, but... hey... you can't help it when you fall  
in love with a girl."  
  
Ranma cringed at the intensely personal statement. Her  
cheeks burned in embarrassment.  
  
"Don't worry, Keiki. Like I said, Kahuna never did  
anything hentai. She was an office assistant part of the day, and  
I just gave her jobs so that she would be working where I could  
see her. Got me through the day some days. Course, if you let the  
sharks in, somebody gonna get eat."  
  
"What happened?" Ranma managed to whisper.  
  
"It turned out that the girl did some part-time modelling  
for ecchi magazines." The principal shrugged again, as if it was  
no big deal. "She got caught. Since she was underage, there as a  
big stink. When her parents found out about it, they were real  
upset."  
  
"And not wanting to take any of the blame for her  
upbringing," Ranma guessed.  
  
"Parents kinda funny that way, Keiki," The principal  
explained, temporarily lapsing back into his accent. "No parent  
wants to admit they a bad mommy or daddy, that they don't care  
enough, that they didn't watch their kids carefully enough. So  
they find people to blame. 'Why weren't her teachers aware of the  
problem?'"  
  
Ranma shook her head, unsure of how to respond.  
  
"Now, if what Tacchi says is true, then I'm a pretty bad  
parent," the principal admitted. "Pretty loopy. Pretty crazy. When  
they started looking for a 'sugar daddy' at the school, I figured  
that they would realize that I was attracted to the girl even  
though I hadn't actually done anything. It was a pretty bad time  
for me. I was hurting pretty bad emotionally, and not really in  
touch with reality. So I figure, hey, I've got money! Let's just  
take a long vacation and get away from all this crap!"  
  
Ranma nodded. It was the principal's long trip to Hawaii  
and the abandonment of his children. She almost began to pity him.  
  
"And when you came back..." Ranma prompted.  
  
"I was a little crazier, and a little saner. I thought a  
lot about how schools should work when I was on the island. I had  
it in my head that I'd make my students the best around by giving  
them unsolvable problems and expecting them to solve them."  
  
"The haircut rules and the coconut thing," Ranma guessed.  
  
The principal nodded. "That was good. Unite the students  
against the bad guy. Make 'em smart! Make 'em strong! You and  
Tacchi were the leaders, really. I even got to be the good guy in  
my head because I was letting you two unite the students against  
me. It was a pretty good time!"  
  
Ranma cocked her head to one side. "Then what went wrong  
with the lunch thing?"  
  
Principal shrugged. "Everything else, the mandatory  
haircuts, the toilet cleaning, everything, I was willing to give  
on. I knew that if there was a reward, it would make the students  
better. I *wasn't* willing to give on the lunch policy because I  
felt that students should respect their school and teachers enough  
to stay there all day."  
  
"But we were already in the habit of 'defeating' you,"  
Ranma guessed.  
  
The principal nodded, a grin on his face instead of a sad  
expression. "Boy, howdy! And I got trashed but good!"  
  
"But... it was the 'hair-fetish' thing, wasn't it?" Ranma  
asked, her voice deep with guilt. "We called you a pervert one-  
too-many times."  
  
"The rooster came home to roost, Keiki," the man's tone  
shifted. "The Principal's a freak! A Pervert!" He sighed deeply.  
"And then someone said, Hey, you remember that short-haired girl  
that used to work in his office? What about her? Maybe he was a  
pervert with her. He sure took off like a shot when she got in  
trouble."  
  
Ranma gulped nervously.  
  
"So I get a call from the ministry of education last  
night. Lost my job, but that's okay, really. They gonna hold a  
conduct hearing and press criminal charges. 'Cause o' the coconut  
thing, 'cause o' the short hair, I'm gonna swing. Better to go  
back to Hawaii so they can't hang me in person, ne?"  
  
Almost unconsciously, Ranma's hand went to her short,  
newly budding pigtail. She suddenly felt uncomfortable next to the  
man, as if he were threatening her somehow. It was just a few days  
ago that she had trimmed her hair. What if... what if he looked at  
her the same way he looked at the underage model before?  
  
Ranma had a sudden flash of being tied up like Akane had  
been at the Principal's first assembly at Furinkan high. Instead  
of hanging above the stage at Furinkan high with her wrists tied  
to a broom, she was in the attic of a Catholic school. The  
principal advanced on her with a pair of barber's shears in one  
hand while unzipping his pants with the other.  
  
Ranma shook her head, realizing that her imagination was  
running away with her. She forced herself to think seriously on  
the matter. Had he ever done anything like that? He really had  
never done anything to her other than be annoying so far as Ranma  
could remember. He didn't look threatening. He just looked  
pathetic.  
  
Who was Ranma to judge someone who had already judged  
himself?  
  
She suddenly recalled the moment she had seen her father  
watching Kasumi and Nodoka hang the laundry. For the first time,  
Ranma realized how beautiful his father thought Kasumi was. His  
father may have been a lying, cheating, sexist pig, but he had  
always stressed the utmost politeness and gentleness to Ranma when  
dealing with the fairer sex. Even if Genma did look at Kasumi in a  
sexual way, Ranma could never believe that he would act on his  
feelings.  
  
Suddenly, Ranma couldn't find it in her heart to fear or  
even resent the pathetic man sitting beside her for his  
admittance. She didn't think this man would act on his feelings  
either.  
  
"Don't go," Ranma said. "I think you can get through it."  
  
The principal shook his head. "Maybe. I kinda doubt it."  
  
"I think... I think I can do something. Something to get  
the hearing cancelled."  
  
The principal raised one eyebrow in skepticism.  
  
"Didn't you say that you gave us unsolvable problems?"  
Ranma asked. "Didn't we always solve them?"  
  
The principal just shook his head. "Maybe if the  
accusations weren't so strong or if there wasn't so much  
evidence..." He sighed and slumped down in his seat. "You just  
don't get the Ministry of Education to back down on something like  
that, Keiki. They really think I'm a criminal now."  
  
"Gimme a day, then," Ranma pleaded.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Just one day," Ranma stated. "An' if you don't think the  
hearing will be called off, then you go ahead. Run away to  
Hawaii," she challenged.  
  
The principal sighed and shrugged. "What the hell. I'm  
waiting on standby tickets today anyway. I can get a first class  
seat if I wait a day. What can you possibly do to get me out of  
this?"  
  
* * *  
  
"My name is Ranma Saotome, and I would like to publicly  
apologize for calling the principal of Furinkan High School a  
pervert."  
  
Ranma winced as the flash bulbs went off all around her. A  
little bit of feedback from the microphones and loudspeakers  
flared up as well. When she had asked Nabiki to help her put  
together a press conference, she hadn't really expected so much  
attention.  
  
As it was, *most* of the Tokyo television stations and  
newspapers were out to hear her confession. Ranma recognized a few  
faces in the crowd from television. She suspected that Nabiki had  
called in every favor she had in order to pull this off and  
realized that she was going to be in debt to the girl for the rest  
of her life.  
  
"It all started when we, me and some of my friends, wanted  
to go out to lunch instead of eating here..."  
  
Ranma dove into the details of their battle plans, laying  
them bare for the world to see. All around her, reporters looked  
at her with keen interest as her story unfolded. Ranma did her  
best to keep her facts honest and unbiased as some of the  
reporters started to ask questions. After a few minutes, Kunou  
stood up beside her behind the podium the drama club had set up in  
the school auditorium.  
  
"As his son, I can attest to my father's innocence of  
sexual abuse. The man is many things," Kunou said. "But a sexual  
predator he is not."  
  
After some time, the questions began to trail off and  
Nabiki ushered the both of them off stage. Yuka and Sayuri stood  
up behind the podium and thanked the press members profusely  
before politely asking them to leave.  
  
* * *  
  
Later that night, the ex-principal walked quietly through  
the halls of his ancestral home. Despite the fact that he rarely  
slept there, it was still very much his home. He didn't plan to  
leave it again.  
  
His silent footsteps carried him through the house until  
he found himself in front of the shuttered room his son used for  
practice and meditation.  
  
"Tacchi," he said. "Thank you for what you did this  
morning."  
  
Tatewaki was silent, his back turned to his father. In  
front of him were two unframed photographs, one of Ranma from  
before her surgery and one from the press conference earlier in  
the day.  
  
"Don't thank me," the kendoist said. "But thank instead  
the pigtailed girl. It was her and her alone who chose to save you  
from the fire. If it were me, I would have left you to rot. Now,  
leave me alone and never enter my presence again. I have no desire  
to see you again. I will no longer call you 'Father'."  
  
Silently, the man who had just lost his son turned away.  
The next morning, he was sitting in the first class section on a  
JAL flight to Oahu.  
  
-----  
  
~to be continued... 


	7. Retreating

Ranma and his friends belong to Rumiko Takahashi. They're used  
here without permission.  
  
------------------------------  
newRanma 7: Retreating  
  
by Chris Jones  
------------------------------  
  
"Well, Ranma. I'm not going to tell you if what you did  
was right or wrong," Makuna-sensei informed his patient. "I can  
tell you that what you did when you recognized that the situation  
got out of hand was the honorable and compassionate thing to do."  
  
"I guess my problem is that I don't understand if there's  
a difference between 'Right' and 'Honorable'," Ranma said,  
Principal Kunou's legal problems and subsequent flight from Japan  
still weighing heavily on her mind.  
  
"Many times they are the same thing," Makuna said. "Many  
times they are not. Try to look at it this way. Japan is one of  
the few countries in the world that still has a functional honor  
system as part of its culture. Despite that fact, there are good  
people all around the world who make moral decisions without  
notions of honor to back them up."  
  
Ranma nodded. She knew that, but hadn't really thought  
about it.  
  
"In many ways, that's because people have become more  
worldly. It's also because that some people can abuse an honor  
system."  
  
"Huh?" Ranma said, cocking her head at the doctor. She  
clearly didn't understand what he meant.  
  
"Well, in many instances its possible to make moral  
decisions without worrying if they're honorable or not, or wether  
or not they save face. If an action is the right thing to do, if  
you don't have an honor system to guide you you, you can make that  
decision regardless of the consequences."  
  
Ranma's shoulders slumped. "I still don't understand."  
  
"Let me give you an example," Makuna said. "Suppose that  
someone close to you told you a secret."  
  
Ranma nodded.  
  
"Then that person starts taking advantage of you because  
you've promised to keep their secret. They start relying on you to  
keep them out of trouble or to not inform others of crimes they  
commit."  
  
Ranma's face paled. "I'll keep your secret, Ryouga," she  
remembered saying so many months ago.  
  
"Honor clearly dictates that you must keep your promise  
and protect their secret despite the fact that they are harming  
you or the ones you love. The right thing to do, despite the fact  
that many people cannot do it, is to tell the secret and stop the  
wrongdoing."  
  
Ranma was speechless.  
  
"Of course, this goes on all the time in cases of sexual  
abuse or drug addiction," Makuna said. "Many times family members  
are caught between personal honor and the wellbeing of their  
families. This is something that happens in almost all cultures."  
  
Ranma's mouth began to work up and down.  
  
"Ranma," Makuna asked. "Are you okay?"  
  
Ranma exhaled heavily. "Yeah... I think so."  
  
"I take it you've been in a position similar to the one I  
described."  
  
"Yeah," Ranma said. "But I think I got it stopped. He  
ain't doin' it any more, so..."  
  
"Are you sure?" Makuna asked seriously. "If this is a case  
of abuse, then its your responsibility to make sure it doesn't  
happen again. That means informing the authorities in almost all  
cases."  
  
"No. It ain't abuse," Ranma said, sighing.  
  
"Can you talk about it? Remember that as part of my  
Hippocratic oath, you can tell me anything without fear of having  
it repeated."  
  
Ranma thought carefully. "If I ask you not to tell, you  
can't?"  
  
"I will if someone is being abused or if someone's life is  
in danger but why don't we discuss that?"  
  
Ranma nodded, and began to speak.  
  
"Well, there's this guy. He's got a curse, too, but not  
quite like mine. His name is Ryouga Hibiki..."  
  
* * *  
  
Ranma glared darkly at the piglet as it wandered around  
the dojo.  
  
She had been lounging in the middle of the wooden floor  
reading her latest Utena tankouban when Ryouga had wandered into  
the dojo and started sniffing around the corners. He was lost, and  
completely unaware that Ranma was even inside the dojo.  
  
It was true that Ryouga had not made any advances to Akane  
since that day at Phoenix mountain. Still, Ranma hadn't seen him  
refuse her tender babying as 'P-Chan'. That was tempered by the  
fact that the lost boy seemed to be doing his best to stay away  
since Ranma's surgery.  
  
Makuna agreed with her that while Ryouga's behavior was  
dishonest and immature, that he was not truly abusing Akane. He  
did say that Ryouga was taking advantage of both Ranma and Akane's  
trust and that Ranma should tell Akane of the deception as soon as  
she could.  
  
Was honor really worth that little?  
  
"Damn it! This will never work!" Akane yelled from the  
kitchen, derailing Ranma's train of thought. The banging and  
clanging of pots and pans carried just as audibly out to the dojo  
as her swearing.  
  
"Ooh," Ranma winced. "I wonder what she's going to force  
down my throat this time?"  
  
"Bwee?" The piglet asked, noticing Ranma for the first  
time. Ranma chuckled. Despite the fact that her food was usually  
toxic. Ryouga choked it down with a smile.  
  
"For such a jerk, you're pretty damn brave, Ryouga," Ranma  
said. "Let's see what she's up to."  
  
Nervously, Ryouga nodded and followed the girl as she  
sneaked out of the dojo.  
  
A few seconds later, the two were around the corner from  
the kitchen door listening attentively to Akane's attempt to cook.  
While outright denial to eat her cooking was sometimes the only  
way to avoid an upset stomach or spending all night in the  
restroom, sometimes subtle guile and avoidance were the best way  
to keep from getting sick.  
  
"Akane!" Kasumi scolded. "You should watch your language."  
  
"I'm sorry, but this is horrible! I can smell it. How can  
I make something for Ranma if it keeps coming out like this?"  
  
Ranma boggled. Akane was actually worried about what her  
food tasted like?  
  
"Well first of all, this is linseed oil. I use it to wax  
the floor. You can't use it to cook with," Kasumi explained  
politely and calmly.  
  
"I was only using it to replace the sesame seed oil!"  
Akane said.  
  
"What you *wanted* to use was just plain salad oil,"  
Kasumi corrected.  
  
"Thank god," Ranma whispered. "Kasumi's supervising! We  
might just be spared the wrath of Akane's cooking."  
  
"Bwee!" P-chan nodded in agreement.  
  
"Not if you don't do exactly as I say, you won't," Nabiki  
said from behind Ranma.  
  
"Oh geez..."  
  
The girl was smiling wickedly, Ranma noted. At least she  
was fully clothed.  
  
"How much," the red-head asked dejectedly, bowing her  
head.  
  
Nabiki paused for a second, the malicious glee draining  
out of her face. "Uhh..."  
  
"Well?"  
  
Nabiki took a deep breath and put a finger to her chin.  
"How about if you do a favor for me," she said after several  
seconds. "I've been wanting some mint-chocolate chip ice cream for  
a while and..."  
  
Could it be that simple? Actually, Ranma could have really  
gone for some ice cream as well.  
  
"What are you waiting for?" Nabiki asked. "Money?"  
  
"Uhhh... I guest that means no, huh?" Ranma asked. "C'mon  
bacon-butt. Let's get out while the getting's good."  
  
P-chan nodded thankfully and began to trot behind Ranma as  
she left the room. She only had to stop once so he could find her.  
  
* * *  
  
Ranma realized that she had forgotten she was mad at the  
piglet when he hopped up on the table in front of her and started  
to look forlorn when she dug into her quadruple scoop 'Spring  
Special' sundae.  
  
"Go 'way, Ryouga. You ain't getting none."  
  
The piglet turned his nose in the air and snorted, as if  
to say, "I don't even want charity from a creep like you, Ranma."  
The expression on his beady eyes however, bespoke of days on the  
road with little or nothing to eat and hope of only Akane's  
leftovers at the end of his journeys. If he was lucky.  
  
"Oh, alright. Here," she said, scooping out a generous  
dollop of ice cream onto the saucer her bowl had been resting on.  
She slid the saucer over to the pig who quickly overcame his pride  
and rivalry and began to eat.  
  
"Yeah, you eat like that, but I know you're just gonna try  
to sneak into Akane's bed again tonight," the redhead complained.  
  
"Bwee!" Ryouga snorted around snoutfuls of ice-cream.  
  
"Why don't you go find Akari and climb into *her* bed?"  
  
"Bwee! Bweee! *SNORT*"  
  
"Hey, I paid good money for that ice cream! If you're  
gonna waste it like that--"  
  
It was then that Ranma noticed the waif looking hungrily  
at her sundae through the window.  
  
"Oh God. Now I gotta feed everybody," Ranma complained.  
  
The little girl noticed Ranma looking at her, and turned  
to run, but the martial artist had no trouble sprinting out of the  
restaurant to catch up with her.  
  
"Hey, wait!" Ranma yelled after sprinting to the doorway  
of the shop. "I didn't mean to run you off."  
  
"I'm sorry," the little girl apologized in a plaintive  
tone. "I didn't mean to spy on you. It's just--"  
  
"It's okay." Ranma said, stepping out of the shop and  
stopping a safe distance away from the girl. "I'm not mad, really!  
You look hungry."  
  
The little girl nodded sheepishly. "I've been travelling  
and it's been a few days since I've had anything to eat."  
  
"Geez. Why don't you let me buy you some ice cream. Okay?"  
  
The girl's eyes lit up. "Really?"  
  
"Yeah, really," Ranma said, smiling as she led the girl  
back to the restaurant.  
  
"Really really?" the girl asked, almost hopping up and  
down.  
  
"Really really," Ranma assured her.  
  
The little girl began to cry tears of joy. "That's... so  
wonderful. I haven't had ice cream since Mommy and Daddy went  
away."  
  
Ranma winced. Was the girl actually homeless?  
  
She led the waif inside and sat her down next to Ryouga,  
who looked at the girl oddly.  
  
She squealed in delight at seeing the toy-like piglet and  
hugged him happily.  
  
Ranma ordered another two sundaes and began to dig happily  
into one as the girl across from her began to eat hers in small  
bites, almost reverently savoring the sweet, creamy taste.  
  
"So what's your name?" Ranma asked, glancing at the girl.  
  
She had a shock of thick, short, blonde hair, and a  
somewhat smudged, but dimpled face. She wore a thick sweater and  
shorts and had socks that came up to her knees. The most notable  
feature of the girl's clothing were her shoes, which were worn  
almost to the point of nonexistence. While they were still  
recognizable as running shoes, they had been patched, glued,  
taped, and tied together so many times that Ranma doubted that  
there was any material from the original shoes left.  
  
"Uhhh... Yoiko, I think." the little girl answered,  
snuggling P-chan as she ate.  
  
"I'm Ranma," the older girl introduced herself. "You look  
pretty lost," she said.  
  
"Not really," Yoiko replied. "I've been all over the city  
today looking for my oniichan."  
  
"All over? Heh, she could be related to you, Ryouga!"  
Ranma said to the little pig.  
  
"My oniichan is not a little piggy!" Yoiko protested.  
"He's big and strong and kind and..."  
  
"Okay. Not Ryouga then," Ranma conceded. "So where have  
you been looking for him. Maybe I can help?"  
  
"Well, I've been following his path. I went to the  
airport, and then to the big tower in the middle of town, and then  
to a high school and then to this girl's house who tried to name  
me... something."  
  
"Uhh..."  
  
"And then I went to another high school and then I went to  
some hot springs and then..."  
  
"You could actually find all those places on the first  
try?" Ranma laughed. "You're definitely *not* a Hibiki!"  
  
"Um... I... I think I might be a Hibiki," Yoiko said. "I  
think that's what Mommy said before she went away," the little  
girl admitted.  
  
Ranma groaned, suspicion beginning to gnaw at her. "Well,  
what's your oniichan's name?" Ranma asked.  
  
The little girl's eyes began to water, as if she was going  
to cry. Her lip began to curl up.  
  
"Don't remember it?" Ranma asked. "Let me ask you this,"  
she said. "Your parents went away, right?"  
  
Yoiko nodded, wiping the nascent tears from her eyes. "Was  
it to do something stupid like get milk or walk the dog?"  
  
"Daddy was supposed to go out and get me a birthday  
present, but he never came back," Yoiko said sadly. "And Mommy  
went to buy a cake, but I guess she's with Daddy... wherever he  
is."  
  
"And your Oniichan?"  
  
"He went to China to get in a duel," she said. "I followed  
him there, but he had already left by the time I got there. I  
finally tracked him back here. He may be at a dojo nearby, but...  
but..."  
  
Ranma sighed and rubbed her forehead. "You can't remember  
the name."  
  
Yoiko nodded sadly, snuggling the pig in her arms.  
  
"Would you happen to be looking for the 'Tendou Dojo',  
perhaps?"  
  
Yoiko's eyes brightened like supernovas. "Yes, That's it!  
Do you know where my oniichan is, Ranban?"  
  
"Bwee?" P-chan looked back and forth between the younger  
and older girl incredulously.  
  
"Ranma," the red-head corrected. "I think I might, but  
I'll need to talk to your piggy there for just a second before I  
take you to him."  
  
* * *  
  
"Why didn't you tell us you had a little sister, Ryouga-  
kun?" Akane asked in surprise.  
  
The fanged youth laughed nervously, holding a hand behind  
his head in embarrassment.  
  
"Ah... the last time I saw her, she was still in diapers,"  
Ryouga admitted.  
  
Yoiko clung happily to the lost boy's leg, her arms and  
legs wrapped around him in a death grip.  
  
"But that was a long time ago, Oniichan!" Yoiko squealed.  
"I'm all grown up now!"  
  
Akane laughed as Ranma and Nabiki both rolled their eyes.  
Eight years old was hardly 'grown up', but Akane could see that  
the little girl was largely self-dependant.  
  
"So you looked for pig-boy here all over, right?" Ranma  
asked.  
  
"My oniichan is not a pig!" Yoiko protested. "But yes,  
when I got old enough I started tracking him down."  
  
Letting go Ryouga's knee with one hand, she pulled out a  
tattered map of Asia that had a red line drawn in a crazy pattern  
on it. "I had to question a lot of people, but I managed to follow  
him all over these islands here," she said, pointing at Japan and  
tracing the looping red path with her finger. "And then I went  
here to this big country, China," she read.  
  
"Uhh... China?" Ranma asked. "You followed him to... Wait  
a second," she said. She rushed into the kitchen and poured a cup  
of cold water. She stepped back out and poured it over Yoiko's  
head, careful not to get any on Ryouga.  
  
"Ranma!" Ryouga growled nervously.  
  
"What'd you do that for?" Yoiko asked angrily.  
  
"Just checking," Ranma said, breathing a sigh of relief.  
"You avoided Jusenkyou?"  
  
"What does Jusenkyou have to do with anything?" Akane  
asked.  
  
"That place with all the springs?" Yoiko asked. "Of course  
I avoided it! All the guide books go on and on about how dangerous  
it is and the nice man told me how to go around it when I got  
there."  
  
"You're a Hibiki and you managed to follow directions?"  
Nabiki asked incredulously.  
  
"I have a perfect sense of direction," Yoiko stated  
proudly, holding up her map. "I... I just can't remember the names  
of the places I'm going sometimes," she admitted.  
  
"Yup, she's Ryouga's sister, all right," Ranma noted,  
chuckling.  
  
"Stop picking on my oniichan, Rambo!" Yoiko threatened.  
"Now that I've found him, I'm never going to let him get away  
again!" she declared, snuggling her face happily into his leg.  
  
"Well, if you're going to stay around here," Kasumi said  
cheerfully, stepping into the room holding a bundle of Akane's old  
clothes. "We'll have to get you all cleaned up, won't we?"  
  
"A bath?" Yoiko asked in trepidation.  
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" she screamed, letting go of Ryouga's leg  
and hurtling away from Kasumi.  
  
"Fear of water must run in the family, huh, P-chan?" Ranma  
noted, watching the girl zoom down the hallway.  
  
"Shut up, Ranma."  
  
* * *  
  
Kasumi finally caught up with the little girl and dragged  
her kicking and screaming into the bathroom, where the sounds of  
aggravated scrubbing and washing warred with the sounds of the  
little girl's screams of terror as she was force-bathed.  
  
"That was scary," Ryouga noted quietly as he sat in the  
dojo next to Ranma with his arms folded across his chest. He  
shuddered as the occasional crashing sound from the bathroom  
filtered out to them  
  
"I'll say," Ranma noted. "Heh... You should have told me  
you had a little sister, Ryouga."  
  
"So you could have another member of the Hibiki family to  
torment? Not likely."  
  
"Oh, like I really torment you," Ranma sniped. "More often  
than not, it's you deciding that it's time for me to die, and me  
whippin' your ass for trying."  
  
"Something like that," Ryouga said, rolling his eyes. "If  
it wasn't for Akane, I'd show you your place, Ranma."  
  
"My place?" Ranma asked, her voice rising. "My place!?  
You're gonna show me *my* place? How about *your* place, bacon-  
butt? I'm getting pretty damn sick and tired of you sneaking into  
Akane's bed all the time."  
  
Ryouga grumbled into his folded arms.  
  
"What?" Ranma demanded angrily.  
  
"I said, that I tried to get away from her," Ryouga said  
weakly. "That part of my life is over now! I've been trying to  
avoid her ever since that disaster of a wedding. I was trying not  
to start a fight! The last thing I want to do is upset Akane!"  
  
"And you think that taking advantage of her is going to  
accomplish that? You think taking advantage of me is going to keep  
us from getting in a fight?!" Ranma yelled. "How long are you  
going KEEP using me and Akane to get your jollies, buta-hentai?"  
  
Ryouga's face was stricken, but the bestial anger that  
Ranma knew so well was rising from the bottom up. Ryouga began to  
snarl, his long canines sticking out at her.  
  
Ranma smiled back cooly at the boy. She realized she was  
picking a fight, but just couldn't seem to stop herself. All the  
rage and anger she had built up over his continuing deception  
seemed to be boiling over, and it felt good to let her feelings  
fly.  
  
"I DO NOT USE AKANE TO GET... do not use Akane to get my  
'jollies', Ranma," Ryouga said, moderating his raised voice.  
  
"But you don't deny that you're taking advantage of the  
both of us," Ranma countered, folding her arms over her chest and  
glaring at the boy. "And you won't tell Akane the truth."  
  
Ryouga's jaw tightened until there were lines around it.  
He raised on clenched fist angrily at Ranma.  
  
"What are you doing to my oniichan, Ranger?" Yoiko's voice  
yelled as she ran into the dojo and placed herself protectively in  
between Ryouga and Ranma.  
  
Ranma's angry thoughts were thrown to the wind at the  
sight of the girl. She no longer looked quite so waif-like. Her  
wild hair had been cleaned and combed and her ragged, dirty  
clothes had been replaced with Akane's hand-me-downs. Ranma  
suspected that both girls were about equally rough on their  
clothing, but Akane had the benefit of Kasumi to mend her tears  
and rips.  
  
Ranma deflated somewhat. Ryouga did too, kneeling in front  
of his sister.  
  
"You look great, Yoiko-chan!" he said, wrapping his arms  
around the girl.  
  
"Katie took all my clothes away," she said sadly. "She  
said she didn't know if she could fix them all or not."  
  
"Well, they were pretty old and worn," Ryouga said.  
  
"If anyone can fix them, it'll be Kasumi," Ranma amended.  
  
"But mommy and daddy gave them to me!" Yoiko protested,  
sniffling.  
  
"Here," Ryouga said, taking a bandanna off his head. "This  
is something that Mother and Father gave to me when I was about  
your age."  
  
He attempted to tie it around her head like his, but  
couldn't quite figure out how to tie the knot backwards from what  
he was used to. Instead, he opted for tying the bandanna around  
her neck like a lady's scarf. It didn't match her green eyes or  
Akane's old sky-blue sweater and shorts set at all, but Ranma  
couldn't help but think that it suited her perfectly.  
  
"Wai! Wai! Oniichan gave me a present!" She shouted,  
dancing around the dojo.  
  
Ranma did her best to stifle a giggle, and tried to look  
away from the Hibikis and their matching bandannas.  
  
"I trust we're not interrupting," a voice called in from  
the doorway.  
  
Ranma and Ryouga both looked up to see Kasumi and Cologne.  
Cologne pogoed in on her long cane and peered curiously at the  
little girl. "Well, aren't you an interesting one?"  
  
Yoiko shied away from the old woman's attention,  
retreating into her brother's embrace.  
  
"A perfect sense of direction, you say?" she asked Kasumi.  
  
"She didn't get lost once while I was bathing her," Kasumi  
said.  
  
For the first time, both boys noticed that Kasumi had  
changed clothes and still had slightly damp hair. Ryouga shuddered  
at the thought of all the cold water involved.  
  
"Knowing this one," Cologne said, jabbing her cane in  
Ryouga's direction, "that's quite an accomplishment. Yes, yes, I  
can see some potential here. Have you ever studied martial arts,  
child?" she asked.  
  
"Ah, quit scarin' her ya' old ghoul," Ranma snapped as  
Yoiko cringed further into the folds of Ryouga's worn pants.  
  
Cologne cackled and hopped away from the girl. "She's  
quite gifted, Son-in-law. If you were smart, you'd start training  
her before I get the chance."  
  
Ranma blinked at the crone's statement.  
  
"It's not her I'm here to see, child," Cologne said. "It  
seems that I'm needed back in the village for a few days, so I  
won't be here to pull your chestnuts out of the fire."  
  
"As if I needed ya to," Ranma said.  
  
"Hahahaha! So overconfident! Well, if you run into a  
problem you can't solve due to your medical restrictions, go to  
this address. They'll help you there if you tell them who you  
are."  
  
Cologne handed a slip of paper to Ranma. The redhead  
glanced at it briefly, not recognizing the address.  
  
"Uh... Thanks," Ranma said. "I guess..."  
  
"Play nice," Cologne cautioned in a cackling tone. "I'll  
be back as soon as I can if you need me."  
  
"Stay away as long as you like!" Ranma said, waving.  
"Sayonara! Arrivederce! Bon Voyage!"  
  
* * *  
  
It was a little after three in the morning when the first  
knife blade embedded into the hardwood floor through the layers of  
Ranma's pillow, her futon, and the tatami mat underneath. The  
second knife-blade nicked her ear as it stuck. The third would  
have pierced her eye and driven itself into the back of her skull  
had she not leapt up and drove a vicious kick into her attacker's  
gut.  
  
Ranma felt her muscles burn and her joints ache as she  
blocked three weighted shot puts in half as many seconds. She  
cursed the medical restrictions that had left her out of shape and  
flipped back away from her assailant.  
  
Her blood ran cold as she saw the glint of thick, opaque  
spectacles in the darkness. Another glint, as off the blade of the  
knife, penetrated her senses.  
  
"Why are you doing this, Mousse?" she hissed, hoping and  
praying that her reflexes were still fast enough to keep any  
bladed weapons from penetrating her body.  
  
The Chinese youth tensed, drawing himself up in a  
defensive stance now that his advantage had run out.  
  
"I think that should be perfectly obvious, Ranma," he said  
in a low, dangerous tone. He lashed out with bladed dirks that  
embedded in the wall where Ranma had been standing.  
  
The pigtailed girl pushed off of the ceiling and spun her  
outstretched leg around to catch Mousse's chin with a stunning  
blow. Mousse rolled with the blow, and came back with a weighted  
chain. He began to spin the weight in a menacing manner.  
  
"With Cologne gone, there's no one who can protect you,"  
Mousse said. "And if I kill you, Shampoo will finally be mine!"  
  
"Like I'm just gonna let you kill me," Ranma snapped back.  
She dodged the weight, and tried to grab the chain as it shot past  
her face, but bloodied her fingers on the sharp edges.  
  
"Ranma!" Nodoka shouted from the doorway, her hands raised  
to her face in horror.  
  
Ranma swore, realizing that both her family and the Tendou  
girls had been awakened. She was almost so distracted that she  
missed the bowling ball that Mousse hurled at her face. She gulped  
with the realization that he was trying to injure her head.  
  
"Damn it, Mousse! I thought you were more honorable than  
this!" she shouted angrily  
  
"Who are you to speak of honor, Saotome?" Mousse demanded,  
beginning to step up his attacks.  
  
Ranma found herself backed up, blocking or dodging  
everything he threw at her, but not able to find an opening to  
attack. She felt slow and leaden. Every nerve ending in her arms  
and legs seemed to be on fire.  
  
"You talk of honor, yet still you lead Shampoo on, keeping  
her away from me, her rightful groom!" Mousse shouted, driving  
blow after blow towards Ranma's head and face. He attacked with  
razor-sharp claws and spiked maces.  
  
Grimacing, Genma pushed past his wife, clenching his  
fists. He prepared to leap.  
  
"Stay outta this, Pops," Ranma said, crouching low and  
sweeping Mousse's feet out from under him. The hidden-weapons  
expert rolled with the fall and came up with hooked pike, but  
Ranma came up underneath him, and grabbed the pike. She used her  
leverage to rock Mousse off his feet and back out the window  
through which he had entered the room.  
  
"Your injuries still haven't had time to fully heal, Boy,"  
Genma cautioned.  
  
"Yeah, but what am I gonna do?" Ranma asked in a casual  
tone, diving through the window herself. "Just let him kill me?"  
  
By the time Genma and the others reached the back yard,  
Ranma and Mousse were fully engaged. Ranma was dodging and lashing  
out with blows that were lightning-fast but still a shade slower  
than her usual attacks. Out in the open air, Mousse had unleashed  
more of his arsenal, including an array of spiked maces, razor-  
sharp blades, and training potties.  
  
Despite Ranma's speed, Mousse still seemed to be pushing  
her back.  
  
"He'll kill Ranma!" Akane screamed. "Mousse! Stop it!"  
  
"The boy's protecting his head," Soun noted emotionlessly.  
  
"Mm," Genma agreed. "He would have already won and been  
back in bed if he was going all out."  
  
Akane glanced back at the fight, and realized what her  
father said was true. Ranma was taking extra care to block blows  
that she would have otherwise ignored or simply dodged past. It  
was slowing her down, and it was going to cost her the fight.  
  
She heard Ranma yell out in pain and rage when she caught  
a blow from one of Mousse's sledge hammers across her arm. Akane  
couldn't help but think that Ranma would normally dance around it  
effortlessly.  
  
"Ranma, look out!" she screamed, seeing that the red-head  
was about to trip backwards over one of the stones near the koi  
pond.  
  
Ranma never saw the black and yellow blur catch her as she  
fell backwards. She did, however, feel the tight, muscular arm as  
it contracted around her waist.  
  
Ryouga perched next to the pond, Ranma in one arm, and a  
bucket in his other hand. He was wearing only boxer shorts and a  
resolute expression. A short distance away, Yoiko stood in the  
doorway of the dojo, wearing one of Akane's old night-gowns.  
  
In one clean motion, Ryouga swung the bucket low enough to  
scoop up water from the pond and send it spraying everywhere in  
front of him.  
  
"QUACK! QUACK! QUACK! QUACK! QUACK! QUACK! QUACK! QUACK!"  
Mousse screamed angrily, the weapons he had been wielding falling  
uselessly to the ground as he changed.  
  
"Get out of here!" the lost boy commanded.  
  
Mousse began to flap away. Within the seconds, the duck  
was a spot in the sky.  
  
"Uh, you can let go of me now, Ryouga," Ranma suggested.  
  
Blushing slightly, Ryouga nodded and released her. He  
hopped down from the stone he had been standing on and nodded to  
his sister.  
  
Ranma couldn't help but notice how wet both she and Ryouga  
had gotten in his attack. It was a wonder that the lost boy hadn't  
changed already. Why was he acting so recklessly?  
  
She shuddered in the cool night air, still feeling warm on  
her back and her legs where she had been clutched to Ryouga's  
body.  
  
"Ragu," Yoiko asked. "Why was that guy trying to hurt  
you?"  
  
"Got no idea," Ranma said. "Actually, I got plenty ideas.  
He thinks I stole his girlfriend."  
  
"Why on earth would he think that?" the little girl asked,  
her face a mask of confusion.  
  
"Yes, Ranma," Akane asked in a cold tone, now that the  
fight was over. "Why would Mousse think that?"  
  
Ranma shook her head, trying to will her heart to stop  
pounding and her legs to stop trembling. "You didn't have to get  
involved, Ryouga," she said, changing the subject. Look at you,  
You almost... got wet," she finished lamely.  
  
Ryouga glanced down at his arm, which had taken a fair  
amount of splash in the fight. "Fine," the lost boy said in a  
disturbed tone of voice. "Next time, I won't save your ass."  
  
Ranma wasn't sure, but she thought she heard him stammer  
slightly as he spoke.  
  
"Hopefully, he won't attack Ranma again," Nodoka said,  
clutching her own nightgown in the coolness of the night.  
  
"I wouldn't count on it," Genma noted, picking up a folded  
letter from the ground, where Mousse had transformed.  
  
"Wonderful," Ranma griped, after reading the letter. "It's  
a formal challenge. He must have not been sure he could murder me  
in my sleep the first time."  
  
"Let's go back to bed, Yoiko-chan," Ryouga said, picking  
his sister up and holding her against his chest.  
  
For the rest of the night, Ranma couldn't help but  
remember the ferocious, yet haunted expression on Ryouga's face as  
he turned away from her.  
  
* * *  
  
"You must accept the challenge," Genma said the next  
morning. His tone was deadly serious.  
  
"Well, I want to," Ranma said. "But..." She grimaced as  
she reread the challenge. Mousse wanted to meet her in  
unrestricted combat at Furinkan High school at noon.  
  
"You need to consider the consequences," Tofuu said. He  
came over just after dawn, right after Kasumi had phoned him about  
the fight. "What's more important to you? Your honor, or your  
life?"  
  
"You shouldn't even have to think about that question,"  
Genma said. "A martial artist should be willing to sacrifice  
*everything*, Ranma."  
  
Ranma clenched her teeth. She tried to think back about  
what Makuna-sensei said about honor, but really couldn't find  
anything that applied. She thought that it was possible that  
Mousse was taking advantage of her sense of honor, but at the same  
time, she felt a drive to get back at the hidden weapons expert.  
She felt cheated by the fight last night, disturbed by its  
outcome. Worse, she wasn't really sure if that was what she  
wanted. She was out of shape and felt the need to start training  
as hard as she could for as long as she could. Tofuu was right in  
that respect. If she fought Mousse, she stood a very good chance  
of aggravating her injury, possibly maiming or killing herself.  
She would be damned before she would let Ryouga save her again, of  
all people!  
  
"As the heir to the Saotome School, you may not refuse a  
challenge, Ranma," Genma stated. "I know that you want to please  
the doctor, but--"  
  
"And I know you feel a duty to your family and to your  
school, Ranma," Tofuu said, cutting Genma off. "But I meant what I  
said. If you fight, I'll recommend that you be confined back to  
the head trauma ward, and I'll stop treating you. You know the  
kind of danger you're in right now just as well as I do."  
  
Ranma exhaled noisily. It was like she had a cartoon 'good  
angel' and 'bad angel' on her shoulders. If only she could tell  
which one was good or bad...  
  
"Unless you're willing to go all out, you cannot win,  
Ranma," Genma said.  
  
It was at that point that the paper shoji slid open in  
front of them. Yoiko led Ryouga through, holding his hand. For the  
first time, Ranma realized that the little girl was leading him  
around, acting as a surrogate sense of direction.  
  
"Oi," Ranma said in an amused tone, glancing at the pair.  
She was a little thankful that Ryouga was wearing his yellow tunic  
and dark canvas pants. She didn't want to think about the way his  
powerful muscles had felt against her body the night before.  
  
"There's another option you're not considering," Ryouga  
said after a few seconds, indicating that he had overheard much of  
the conversation.  
  
"Oh?" Genma asked.  
  
Tofuu pushed up his glasses and gestured for Ryouga to  
continue.  
  
"I could take up the challenge for Ranma," he said  
quietly.  
  
"WHAT?!" Ranma demanded angrily  
  
Tofuu nodded his head. "I would certainly prefer it if you  
would. Of course I would really rather this fight not take place,  
but if it does, then Ryouga is in much better condition to fight a  
duel than Ranma."  
  
Genma bit his lip in thought. "You'll have to formally  
join the school," he said to Ryouga after several seconds of  
intense. "But I believe it would be acceptable for one member of  
the school to answer a challenge for another member who is unable  
to answer. Ranma has often taken up challenges for me and vice-  
versa."  
  
"Like when?" Ranma said. "God, I can't believe you are  
seriously considering this!"  
  
"Ritalin," Yoiko said, putting her tiny hand on Ranma's  
shoulder. "Oniichan doesn't want you to get hurt. It's because of  
your ri-va-lry" she said, struggling with the last word.  
  
Ryouga blushed, his neutral expression becoming clouded  
with embarrassment.  
  
"I want to be the one to kill you," Ryouga said  
halfheartedly. "If Mousse does you in first, then I can't get my  
rightful vengeance."  
  
Yoiko smiled widely, showing her fangs.  
  
"Whatever," Ranma conceded in irritation, turning her nose  
up in the air. "You'll be lucky if Mousse don't kill you. He's  
been training, you know. Maybe if you kill each other, I'll be out  
two headaches."  
  
Yoiko stared at Ranma in horror, her happy expression  
melting like a snowflake.  
  
"You can beat that Muselix guy, right, Oniichan?" she  
asked. "Right?"  
  
"Yeah," Ryouga said. He didn't sound very convinced of his  
own words.  
  
* * *  
  
"The master really should be here," Genma noted.  
  
"Don't say that, Saotome," Soun said, crouched into a  
kneeling pose in the dojo.  
  
Ranma sighed in irritation as she leaned against the dojo  
wall. Genma would not be satisfied until Ryouga was 'formally'  
inducted into the school. Both she, Akane, Genma and Soun were  
present for the 'ceremony', which had so far involved Ryouga  
swearing to uphold the precepts of the school over a pair of  
panties.  
  
"This is a joke," Ranma grumbled.  
  
"Remember who founded the school, son," Soun explained.  
  
Ranma rolled her eyes. Akane elbowed her in the side and  
growled quietly.  
  
"Remember, Ryouga-kun," Genma said. "As a member of the  
school, you may not refuse a challenge. You must comport yourself  
honorably and truthfully--"  
  
"Like you know anything about truth and honor, old man"  
Ranma kibitzed.  
  
"Hush up, boy. You must defend the weak and those who  
can't defend themselves, Ryouga-kun."  
  
"I promise," Ryouga said.  
  
"So how come I never had to take this oath?" Ranma asked,  
somewhat more seriously after it was over.  
  
"You did," Genma said. "When you were little."  
  
"Oh, just like I promised to grow up to be a 'man among  
men', huh?"  
  
Genma cringed guiltily.  
  
* * *  
  
As the hour for the challenge approached, Ranma, Akane,  
Ryouga and Yoiko set out for the high school. Soun and Genma  
accompanied them to witness the fight. Tofuu also accompanied  
them, just in case someone needed medical treatment during or  
after the fight. Ranma grumbled angrily the whole time.  
  
She admitted to herself that she was really upset with the  
whole deal. Ryouga was *not* supposed to fight her battles for  
her, even if she was injured. Still, it was the best way that  
Ranma could see to satisfy both her honor as a martial artist  
*and* uphold the promises she made to obey her medical  
restrictions. That didn't mean it wasn't frustrating and  
demeaning.  
  
Ranma promised herself that she would humiliate Ryouga in  
brutal combat just as soon as Tofuu released her. She turned back  
to snarl at the lost boy, but saw that both he and his little  
sister were suddenly missing.  
  
"Lovely."  
  
"What?" Akane asked, turning around. "Ryouga-kun? Where  
did he go?"  
  
"Perfect time for the Hibiki sense of direction to kick in  
for Yoiko," Ranma noted. "Everyone in his family is a pain in the  
ass. You guys go on ahead, and I'll try to find him."  
  
"Hurry, Ranma," Genma urged. "If one of you isn't there by  
noon, you'll have to forfeit."  
  
"Not even if I can't find Ryouga," Ranma swore.  
  
She found Ryouga lost in a mud puddle near the school  
after only a few minutes of searching. He was covered in wet,  
sticky mud and looked miserable.  
  
"Bwee..." he grunted sadly.  
  
"You have any clue at all where your sister is?" Ranma  
asked, rolling her eyes.  
  
The little pig shook his head sadly.  
  
"C'mon. Let's get you cleaned up and dressed," she said.  
  
Carrying him by the bandanna around his neck, Ranma took  
the pig into the school and into the boy's locker room. It was  
Sunday, so no one was there. Ranma took him into the back of the  
room, where a row of shower stalls lined one wall. She turned the  
one furthest from the door on and tossed the pig underneath.  
  
"Thanks," Ryouga muttered after changing back.  
  
"No prob," Ranma replied, staring at the lost boy as he  
showered away the mud and grime.  
  
"Could you stop that?" Ryouga asked, blushing fiercely.  
  
"Stop what?" Ranma asked.  
  
"Staring at me like that," Ryouga said, gulping.  
  
"Why. We're both guys here, right?"  
  
"Ranma!" Ryouga growled.  
  
"Don't get your blood pressure up, Porkchop," Ranma said,  
tossing Ryouga a bar of soap. "I'm just trying to make sure you  
don't wander off again before the fight, okay?"  
  
"Sure," Ryouga grumbled. "Whatever."  
  
"So you really wanna fight Mousse for me, huh?" Ranma  
asked after turning away slightly.  
  
"Not really," Ryouga said. "It's like I said. I can't let  
him kill you when you're injured like this."  
  
"It's not so bad. I could take him, easy," Ranma  
disagreed.  
  
"Are you sure?" Ryouga asked.  
  
"Are you?"  
  
"No," Ryouga admitted, letting the hot water splash all  
around him. "I'm stronger than he is, but you're right. He's been  
training. Without you to fight with, I've gotten a little out of  
shape the past few weeks. I know that I can win, but... but... "  
He paused, glancing back at Ranma. "We've had fights before that  
could have gone all the way. I could have killed you."  
  
Ranma nodded, seriously. "Or I could have killed you," she  
said.  
  
"Well, I'm afraid that this fight is like that."  
  
"Are you afraid?" Ranma asked, no hint of accusation in  
her voice.  
  
"I don't want to kill Mousse," Ryouga answered. "He's  
annoying, sure, but he never really did anything to me. You... If  
I killed you in a duel it would be because of my curse... or for  
the way you treat Akane," he said without much conviction in his  
voice. "I don't have any reason to do that to Mousse, but I'm not  
sure I can win the fight without killing him."  
  
Ranma grimaced. It was the martial artist's dilemma. In a  
serious fight, if one was sufficiently skilled over his adversary,  
he could defeat his opponent with a minimum of injury to either  
party. In a serious fight between similarly skilled martial  
artists, it was another matter entirely, especially when neither  
party is willing to accept defeat.  
  
"You'll beat him," Ranma said in a low tone.  
  
"But--"  
  
"You *will* beat him," she said, in a tone that suggested  
that the alternative would not be pleasant for either one of them.  
  
"Hai."  
  
* * *  
  
By the time the two made it out to the field behind the  
school, Shampoo had arrived and was waiting for Ranma.  
  
"Husband no fight blind duck when head hurt, right?" the  
Chinese girl asked, concern in her voice.  
  
"Nope, Ryouga's going to," Ranma said, and began to  
explain how Ryouga was going to answer the challenge.  
  
A few minutes later, the blind duck in question walked  
onto the field.  
  
"Are you ready to die, Saotome?" Mousse asked.  
  
"Even if I was going to fight you, I'd kick your ass,"  
Ranma retorted. "Because I'm feeling nice today, I'm gonna let  
Ryouga do it instead."  
  
"What?"  
  
Ryouga cracked his knuckles and stepped forward, an  
expression of grim determination on his face.  
  
"No, I'm here to fight Ranma," Mousse said. "I have no  
quarrel with you, Hibiki. My only interest is in winning Shampoo's  
heart, whatever it takes!"  
  
"Even if Mousse kill Ranma, Shampoo no love!" the amazon  
girl shouted from the sidelines.  
  
"Because Ranma is not fit to fight," Genma said cooly,  
"Ryouga has taken up the challenge. Will you forfeit the battle?"  
he asked the blind boy.  
  
Shampoo rolled her eyes. "Stupid Mousse too cowardly to  
fight lost boy. He lose for sure!"  
  
"You ain't helpin', Shampoo!" Ranma said in an exasperated  
tone.  
  
"Never!" Mousse shouted. "I'll prove myself, even if it  
means fighting Ryouga!"  
  
Ryouga exhaled and dropped into a defensive crouch. "Come  
get me."  
  
Mousse screamed and let fly with a coil of razor wire.  
Ryouga deflected the strike with a bandanna and thrust his  
outstretched finger into the ground. It erupted underneath Mousse,  
who had already leapt into the air to avoid the debris. He was  
still peppered with shrapnel - dirt, gravel, and the remnants of  
an old, empty water pipe.  
  
The fight was on before any present could blink.  
  
Ryouga darted forward and kicked at Mousse with a strike  
that could break rock, but Mousse knew who he was dealing with. He  
dodged, rather blocked the kick, even though it left him badly  
extended. He was faster than Ryouga, which allowed him to recover  
and dodge again before Ryouga could crush his skull with another  
well-placed kick. He retaliated with a circular saw blade thrown  
discus-style at Ryouga's midsection. Ryouga knocked the saw out of  
the air from above and used a bandanna to catch the blade of the  
katana Mousse tried to split him with.  
  
Ranma was shouting encouragement and instructions for  
Ryouga from the sidelines, but both combatants ignored her.  
  
Mousse leapt away, discarding his katana, but allowing a  
pair of metal claws to drop into place over his hands. He swiped  
at Ryouga twice, actually slicing Ryouga's tunic, but the lost boy  
danced back away from the attack. He punched at Mousse underneath  
the blades, but Mousse reacted by crossing them, threatening to  
slice into Ryouga's arm. Ryouga countered by turning and leveling  
a hard, fast kick at the blades that broke them off at their base.  
  
Mousse glanced grimly at the broken-off stubs and  
discarded the claws. He tossed a large cannon-ball at Ryouga, who  
shattered it with another Bakusai Tenketsu. Mousse used the  
opportunity to pull out a bedpan. He managed to sneak in under  
Ryouga's guard and bash the short-haired youth upside the head. He  
pulled back and drove the pointed end into Ryouga's gut.  
  
Ryouga grunted, almost, but not quite losing his breath.  
He took advantage of the closeness between the two to rabbit punch  
Mousse's face. He struck three times, bloodying the nearsighted  
boy's nose and breaking his glasses.  
  
Mousse dropped the bedpan and staggered away, clutching at  
his face. He leapt back from Ryouga's next blow, tearing off the  
remnants of his glasses and replacing them with a spare pair.  
Covering his momentary retreat, he let a barrage of sharp, bladed  
shuriken fly at Ryouga.  
  
Ryouga ducked easily, grabbing the discarded bedpan, and  
sliding it along the ground. Mousse landed in it, and fell  
backwards. He rolled, kicked the bedpan back at Ryouga, who  
blocked it with a punch. Mousse flipped and came to his feet with  
a pool cue in hand. He used it like a staff as Ryouga attacked,  
blocking the blows the bandanna-clad martial artist directed at  
him. The last of Ryouga's blows snapped the cue in half, but  
Mousse took it in stride, tapping Ryouga with glancing blows on  
either side of his face and driving the blunt end of the cue into  
his chest, bruising Ryouga's ribs.  
  
Ryouga reached out and knocked the narrow end of the cue  
away, but Mousse grabbed the boy's wrist and used it as leverage  
to drive no fewer than five punishing knee blows into Ryouga's  
chin.  
  
Ryouga backed away, spitting blood, but no teeth.  
  
Mousse skipped back, landing lightly on his toes. He  
produced a fiberglass bow, and a steel tipped arrow, which he  
aimed at Ryouga.  
  
"Ryouga! Watch out!" Akane screamed as Mousse fired.  
  
Ryouga was almost fast enough to keep from being hit. As  
it was, the arrow grazed his leg, leaving a bloody gash. The  
second arrow stuck in his thigh, red blood welling all around it.  
  
"NO! RYOUGA!" Ranma screamed.  
  
Growling, Ryouga pulled the arrow out, letting the wound  
bleed. It didn't look as if an artery was cut, but the boy was  
still bleeding heavily. He directed a killing stare at Mousse.  
  
"That hurt, you know."  
  
"It will hurt a lot more before I defeat you," Mousse  
threatened.  
  
Tofuu grimaced and clamped his hand down on Ranma's  
shoulder. The girl was agitated, horrified by the wound Ryouga had  
received and eager to leap into to the fight.  
  
His anger and pain fueling his strength and speed, Ryouga  
leapt at Mousse, tearing the bow away from him before the Chinese  
boy could ready a third arrow and whipping the boy with the  
flexible shaft. It broke on the fourth strike, but Ryouga pulled  
back his fist and prepared to continue to rain down punishment on  
his enemy.  
  
Mousse blocked the blow with a pair of nunchaku and lashed  
the lost boy about the head and shoulders with his weapons. He  
kicked at Ryouga's leg, aiming for the wound he had just  
inflicted. Ryouga grabbed Mousse's ankle before he could strike,  
flipping him into the air. He paid for it by being unable to block  
Mousse's kicks as he somersaulted.  
  
Letting the blows rain down on him, Ryouga roared and  
bulled his way through Mousse's defenses, and lifted the hidden-  
weapons expert off the ground with a brutal upper cut. Before  
Mousse could regain his balance and strike back, Ryouga drove two  
rights and a left into his face, blackening both his eyes and  
breaking his nose.  
  
"Sloppy," Genma noted with some distaste.  
  
"But effective," Soun commented. "The boy has amazing pain  
tolerance."  
  
Mousse replaced his glasses yet again, and started lashing  
out at the lost boy with everything he had, sending shot puts,  
chains, wire, rolls of toilet paper, and a cheese grater at  
Ryouga's face. He tried to use the confusion his storm created to  
catch Ryouga with a two-by-four with a bent nail in it, but Ryouga  
dodged cleanly around Mousse's desperate attack and slammed the  
board back in Mousse's face.  
  
The Chinese youth dropped the board as he staggered back.  
Bloody and wheezing, he fought to keep his footing.  
  
While buoyed up by his rage-fueled adrenalin trip, Ryouga  
wasn't in much better shape. The bleeding from his leg hadn't  
slowed, and he was growing pale, and starting to tremble. He  
crouched back into his original defensive stance, ready to end the  
fight one way or the other.  
  
Mousse attempted to produce another weapon, but came up  
with only a small stiletto dagger, about seven inches long.  
Grinning, he held it ready at his side.  
  
"Ryouga! He'll kill you!" Ranma screamed, struggling under  
Tofuu's grip. "Don't do it! NO!"  
  
Heedless of Ranma's concern, Ryouga dived in, his fists  
outstretched and his teeth clenched in a killing expression.  
  
Ranma, seeing what was about to happen, began to scream  
almost incoherently. Tofuu grabbed Ranma's wrist in a restraining  
hold as the redhead began to struggle to get free.  
  
Ryouga drove one punch into Mousse's ribs. A second punch  
was rewarded with a spray of blood and teeth from Mousse's jaw.  
  
"LET ME GO!" Ranma screamed, struggling to free herself.  
  
Mousse slid the dagger into Ryouga's left side, just above  
his waist. He kept his grip on it, pulling it back out when  
Ryouga's final punch drove him away and knocked him down.  
  
"RYOUGA! NO!!" Ranma screamed, wrenching her arm in  
Tofuu's grip.  
  
Ryouga staggered, clutching at his side. Red blood began  
to pour through his fingers, staining his shirt. It began to  
mingle with the blood from the wounds on his leg.  
  
Some distance away, a sports car jumped the curb and drove  
through a gap in the chain link fence that separated the athletics  
field from the street. It took a straight bearing on the fight.  
  
His face and body battered and almost crushed in pain and  
exhaustion, Mousse began to try to work his way to his feet. The  
bloody dagger was still clenched firmly in his hand.  
  
Ryouga staggered, trying to keep standing. With one hand,  
he pressed on the wound, trying to stem the red flow. With the  
other, he reached down and picked up a palm-sized rock. He  
clenched his fist around it, and began to stagger towards Mousse.  
  
Ranma finally broke free of Tofuu's grip and launched  
herself across the yards that would take her in between Mousse and  
Ryouga.  
  
The car screeched to a stop near those anxiously observing  
the battle, kicking up turf. Yoiko was screaming in the  
passenger's seat. From the driver's seat, a red blur flew out and  
past Ranma.  
  
Ranma fell to the ground, unconscious, just before she  
reached Mousse.  
  
Mousse was next to fall, felled by the new combatant.  
Finally, the figure, a tall, Chinese red-head, stood before  
Ryouga. She tapped his neck near the base of his skull.  
  
"Oh no..." Shampoo mumbled, a blush rising on her cheeks.  
  
"Oniichan!" Yoiko screamed, scrambling out of the car and  
running to her brother's side.  
  
"Thank you," Ryouga whispered. He smiled, and dropped to  
his knees. The stone tumbled loosely to the ground, bouncing once  
in front of the lost boy. He fell face forward into the grass.  
Blood began to run freely from the wound in his side.  
  
-----  
  
~to be continued... 


	8. Dreaming

Ranma and his friends belong to Rumiko Takahashi. They're used  
here without permission.  
  
This story contains some adult material. Reader discretion is  
advised.  
  
------------------------------  
newRanma 8: Dreaming  
  
by Chris Jones  
------------------------------  
  
"Ranma, wake up!"  
  
"Huh?" Ranma snapped awake, realizing that she had fallen  
asleep. "What? Where?"  
  
"You're needed in surgery with Doctor Saotome," Nurse  
Akane said.  
  
Nurse Ranma glanced down at herself. She was wearing a  
tight nurse's uniform and high-heeled shoes.  
  
"In surgery?" Nurse Ranma asked curiously. "What's going  
on here? I was with Ryouga, and there was a fight and..."  
  
"Doctor Saotome requested you specifically," Nurse Akane  
said, pulling Ranma to her from the desk she had been napping on.  
"We need to get you scrubbed-up and..."  
  
"Nurse Akane to X-Ray," Kasumi's voice called out over the  
PA system. "Nurse Akane to X-Ray."  
  
"Get to surgery!" Nurse Akane yelled, running off in  
another direction.  
  
"But--"  
  
"This way," Doctor Kuonji said, grabbing Nurse Ranma's  
arm.  
  
"Ucchan? What's going on here?" Nurse Ranma demanded  
angrily.  
  
"Oh, it's Ucchan now?" the doctor asked, a grin on her  
face. "Really, Nurse. I'm glad to see you're loosening up. Maybe I  
have a chance to steal you away from Doctor Saotome?"  
  
Reeling from oddness and the unusual surroundings, Ranma  
did her best to make sense of her surroundings. It wasn't until  
she heard the familiar, tacky music playing in the background that  
she realized what was going on.  
  
"I'm in 'Nurse Academy'. Wonderful."  
  
"What?" Doctor Kuonji asked.  
  
"Never mind. I'm needed in surgery?"  
  
"Yes, and after that, there's the big luncheon." Doctor  
Kuonji said, clenching her fist by her side. "Haha! Finally, I  
will reveal my secret to everyone!"  
  
"Oh, geez. This is gonna be really stupid, ain't it?"  
Ranma lamented.  
  
* * *  
  
Doctor Saotome had a rakish grin, broad pectoral muscles  
that could be seen even under his smock, and a pigtail that  
protruded from the back of his surgical cap.  
  
Nurse Ranma was pretty sure that he was making eyes at  
her. She was also pretty sure that he was playing footsie with  
Nurse Nabiki under the operating table. She knew for a fact that  
she had seen him grab Doctor Kuonji's butt as the other physician  
walked by.  
  
"Scalpel," Doctor Saotome said.  
  
Nurse Nabiki gently placed one in his hands, taking a few  
extra seconds to let her fingers linger against his.  
  
"I'll charge you for that later, Doctor," she said.  
  
"I'll be ready," Doctor Saotome said in a suave tone,  
winking wickedly at the nurse.  
  
"I'm certain you'll be... up... to the task," Nurse Nabiki  
responded.  
  
Nurse Ranma sighed as Doctor Saotome went back to making  
eyes at her. God, what a playboy.  
  
Just then, Mikado Sanzenin burst into the operating room,  
an accusing finger pointed at Doctor Saotome.  
  
"Why are you operating on this patient?" he demanded.  
  
"Because I'm the only doctor in this hospital that can  
perform a triple spleen conflaguration," the pigtailed surgeon  
responded. "Eh, Soun, old boy? If you feel up to the task..."  
  
"Soun?" Nurse Ranma asked in confusion. "Isn't Soun  
Tendou... older? And didn't he have a moustache?"  
  
"Administrator Tendou was replaced last season by this  
actor to boost ratings," Nurse Nabiki explained. "Personally, I  
think he's quite a bit more attractive, don't you?"  
  
"Something like that," Nurse Ranma noted, a scowl on her  
face.  
  
"This patient has no insurance!" Administrator Sanzenin  
said angrily. "I won't have a loose cannon like you making  
decisions like this, Saotome."  
  
"Don't tell me about, 'Loose Cannons', Soun. Or I could  
tell everyone about... Nurse Akane," Doctor Saotome threatened.  
  
Administrator Sanzenin's face paled. He shuddered away  
from Doctor Saotome's steady gaze.  
  
"What about Nurse Akane?" Ranma asked.  
  
"You promised you would keep quiet about that,"  
Administrator Sanzenin accused.  
  
"And I will continue to keep quiet," Doctor Saotome said.  
"Unless you interfere again."  
  
Administrator Sanzenin glared darkly at Doctor Ranma  
before he turned and strode out of the OR.  
  
"Shouldn't he have been in scrubs or something?" Nurse  
Ranma asked.  
  
"Now don't you worry about that," Doctor Kuonji said, her  
hand on Ranma's leg, and slowly sliding up.  
  
"YIPE!"  
  
* * *  
  
Interlude:  
  
"Japanese male, age seventeen. Name, Ryouga Hibiki. He was  
stabbed this afternoon during a martial arts duel. I think all  
we're dealing with here is a lacerated bowel, but X-ray indicates  
that it's also possible that his left kidney was nicked as well.  
We'll evaluate as we go."  
  
"Understood, Sensei," another doctor replied. "We've  
already administered two pints of A positive."  
  
"Blood pressure is 125 over 78 and steady," a nurse  
commented. "Sinus rhythms appear normal."  
  
"Let's open... here," The doctor said, making a short mark  
on Ryouga's back with a felt-tip pen. "Tofuu, why is my patient  
handcuffed to the table?" she asked.  
  
Tofuu cleared his throat as he was tying on his mask. "I  
don't want him wandering off. This is boy I told you about. The  
one with no sense of direction."  
  
"Ah... you weren't kidding then. Okay, everyone keep an  
eye out for his sense of direction. I'll try not to drop it on the  
floor."  
  
"His sense of direction is out in the waiting room," Tofuu  
noted, grimacing at the surgeon's joke. "She's eight years old and  
has *nowhere* else to go."  
  
"Tofuu," the surgeon said, placing her gloved hand on his  
shoulder. She looked into his eyes with amusement. "I'm the trauma  
surgeon. You're the chiropractor. Lighten up, okay?"  
  
"Yes, Hashi," Tofuu said, calming a bit.  
  
"But, Tofuu is right," the surgeon announced in a more  
business-like tone to the rest of the nurses and doctors in the  
room. "No mistakes, people. This is serious, but it shouldn't be a  
fatal injury. Let's not turn it in to one."  
  
* * *  
  
Nurse Ranma had been horrified to learn that Doctor  
Saotome, despite his advances towards her, seemed to already be  
banging the entire cast of the show. Although she couldn't be  
sure, in the few hours she had been working in the hospital she  
had heard enough anecdotal evidence to lead her to belive that  
Doctor Saotome was sleeping with Nurse Nabiki, Nurse Shampoo, and  
Doctor Kuonji. From what she had heard, the licentious doctor was  
also looking to add Nurse Akane to his harem, but unfortunately  
for him and fortunately for Nurse Ranma's stomach, Nurse Akane  
wasn't that kind of girl.  
  
She had heard it hinted, however, that Nurse Akane had  
some dark secret in her past that both Doctor Saotome and Hospital  
Administrator Mikado Sanz-- er... Soun Tendou knew about. She  
could only guess that the lecherous Doctor Saotome was planning to  
use the information to blackmail Akane and force his attentions on  
her whether she wanted them or not.  
  
Ranma sighed in frustration as she wheeled the specimen  
cart down the hallway. She couldn't let Doctor Saotome have Akane!  
Akane was in love with Doctor Tofuu, and even though the staff  
chiropractor was in love with Nurse Kasumi, who was in turn in  
love with Hospital Administrator Sanze-- uh... Tendou, Ranma felt  
a duty to Nurse Akane to protect her.  
  
"Have the preparations been made, Mousse?" Administrator  
Mikado asked from the door of his office as Doctor Mousse and  
Nurse Ranma crossed paths in the hallway.  
  
"Of course they have!" Doctor Mousse responded, adjusting  
his thick spectacles. "Everything is in place so that I can steal  
Nurse Shampoo away from Saotome! Once I have her, then you and I  
can split her family's fortune between us."  
  
"Not here!" Mikado cautioned, glancing at Nurse Ranma.  
"There are ears everywhere, Mousse."  
  
"Understood!"  
  
Ranma rolled her eyes. Everyone was acting like they were  
trapped in some kind of soap opera.  
  
"Heheheh..." Administrator Mikado chuckled as Mousse  
walked away. "Of course only I suspect anything about Nurse  
Shampoo's plans to do away with the other nurses."  
  
"What did you say?" Nurse Ranma asked curiously. "Do away  
with..."  
  
"Nothing!" Mikado shouted, darting back into his office.  
"You'll pay, Saotome!" he swore from inside. "You'll all pay!"  
  
Nurse Ranma shook her head sadly. Still, it didn't concern  
her. At least she hoped that it didn't concern her.  
  
She wheeled the cart full of specimens down another hall  
and into a laboratory, where Doctor Gosunkuji took it off her  
hands, and began to initial all the required paperwork.  
  
"If you would," the pale, timid doctor asked once they  
were finished, "Please go see Groundskeeper Genma. He needed to  
see you about something, if I remember correctly."  
  
What on earth would Genma need to see her for, Ranma  
wondered.  
  
She managed to track down the gardener in the hospital's  
arboretum. To her surprise, Groundskeeper Genma wasn't a portly,  
bald individual, but a tall man with a regal bearing and noble  
face. He had short, immaculate hair, and a dazzling smile. Ranma  
couldn't help but think that the man looked out of place in the  
worn overalls he was wearing.  
  
When he saw her enter the arboretum, he smiled in rapture  
and sheathed the plant shears at his side like a sword. Before she  
could protest, he swept her up into his arms and embraced her.  
  
"Oh, my pigtailed angel of mercy, you came!"  
  
"Ku-ku-ku-Genma?" Ranma asked in shock. "Uhh... Doctor  
Gosunkuji said you needed to see me."  
  
Kun-- er... Genma's expression darkened and turned  
serious. Still holding Ranma close to his broad chest, he glanced  
around.  
  
Ranma realized that this actor must have been replaced for  
reasons of age and ratings as well.  
  
"This way," the grounds-keeper said, leading Ranma by the  
wrist.  
  
He took her into the gardening shed, but once inside, he  
hung his gardening shears on a pegboard. The hook shifted down  
under the weight, and the floor of the shed began to descend.  
Ranma and Kunou both had to duck as a false floor slid into place  
over their heads.  
  
When the secret elevator stopped, the pair was surrounded  
by high-tech, yet cheesy looking electronic equipment.  
  
"What is this place?" Ranma asked, half in curiosity, half  
in dread.  
  
"This is where I conduct surveillance on the hospital for  
the Ministry of Intelligence," the groundskeeper admitted. "Every  
surgery, every treatment, every conversation. It all comes through  
here. No one else would ever be permitted to have this knowledge,  
but I feel I can trust you now," he said, letting his hand close  
on her waist.  
  
Ranma tried to back away from the man's advances, but her  
legs seemed not to want to work.  
  
"Ku-- Genma..." she said, her head spinning.  
  
The groundskeeper wrapped his other strong arm around her  
back. She could feel his hot breath on her neck as he leaned over  
her. "I trust you, Ranma. I trust you enough to risk it all..."  
  
Ranma gulped and tried to ignore the way she was trembling  
or the way her heart was pounding. "Kunou, please... Let me go.  
I'm not sure about this," she finally managed to squeak out.  
  
The groundskeeper nodded. "Come back when you are ready.  
In the meantime, remember, what you have seen here must remain  
secret."  
  
Ranma nodded, and ran for the elevator.  
  
"GAH! What's happening to me," she cried out loud once she  
was out of the arboretum. "That shouldn't have happened. I'm a  
guy, right? RIGHT!?"  
  
* * *  
  
Interlude:  
  
"Ah, I think we've found the bleeder," Doctor Hashi noted.  
"Suction, please."  
  
Tofuu did his best to stay out of the surgeons' ways, yet  
still keep an eye on Ryouga. His color was good but the boy's  
blood pressure was fluctuating in a worrying manner. The  
chiropractor was nervously optimistic because his patient was  
usually so healthy.  
  
"Oh, oh damn," Hashi muttered.  
  
"His kidney?" Tofuu guessed, cautious optimism falling  
away in favor of dread.  
  
"Yup. It's worse than x-ray indicated. It looks like the  
knife blade actually penetrated here, near the hillius, and nicked  
the major renal vein. It's a clean cut, really, but he's bleeding  
like a stuck pig. Let's set up another unit of whole blood,  
please."  
  
"Hai, Sensei," a resident surgeon answered her, gesturing  
to a nurse to aid him.  
  
"If the artery was cut, he'd be dead by now. It looks like  
the renal nerve may have been damaged too. He might lose the  
kidney, Tofuu." Hashi admitted.  
  
Tofuu nodded, sweat popping out on his brow.  
  
Hashi paused for a second and began to think carefully.  
"That's gonna... No." She swore under her breath. "We can do this.  
It shouldn't even need a graft."  
  
"Are you sure?" Tofuu asked the surgeon.  
  
"I hope so. Stop bleeding, kid," she commanded."Don't you  
*dare* bleed to death on me."  
  
* * *  
  
Ranma screamed inside her own head. The worst part of it  
was... the most horrible part of it was the fact that part of her  
wanted to stay and let Kunou do... whatever he was going to do to  
her.  
  
Doing her best to stay focused, she ran into the  
hospital's cafeteria, where she ran into Shampoo, who was pouring  
an interesting looking powder into several drinks.  
  
"Aiyah! Nurse Ranma no frighten Shampoo like that!"  
  
"I'm sorry," Ranma said, trying to help Nurse Shampoo to  
her feet. She kept slipping on the spilled drink Shampoo had been  
holding.  
  
"No you not. You just like torment Shampoo. Everyone know  
you and Nurse Akane keep handsome Doctor Saotome from being only  
with Shampoo, who is rightful bride."  
  
"We do not!" Ranma said in denial. "If anything, it's you  
and Nabiki who... wait. Why am I even arguing about this? I'm  
Ranma Saotome, not that crazy, perverted guy!"  
  
"You just stupid nurse," Shampoo said, advancing on the  
girl, a thin, stiletto blade held out before her.  
  
"No! That's..."  
  
Ranma's vision flashed. She saw Mousse drive that same  
dagger into Ryouga's side. It came away, and all Ryouga's blood  
began to run down his side.  
  
"Put the knife away, Shampoo," Ranma commanded in a shaky  
voice.  
  
"Shampoo put Ranma out of her misery, instead," Shampoo  
said in a low, dangerous tone.  
  
Ranma had no choice but to run. Her attempted poisoning  
failed, Shampoo was determined to take Ranma out of the picture.  
She pursued the other nurse through endless hallways, until Ranma  
ducked inside a laboratory.  
  
"Whew... I can't believe that--"  
  
"Ranma?" Akane shouted. "Oh no!"  
  
"Would you care to... heheh... join us, Nurse Ranma?"  
  
Ranma turned around, and froze in shock.  
  
They sure didn't have scenes like *this* on television!  
  
Doctor Saotome had Nurse Akane propped up on one of the  
lab tables, her back to Ranma. Her short nurse's uniform had been  
hiked up around her waist, displaying her bare ass. She was  
supporting herself with her hands, while her ankles were hooked  
over Doctor Saotome's shoulders.  
  
Akane's face was red with embarrassment and shame. Ranma  
felt her eyes begin to burn and wetness start to course down her  
cheeks.  
  
Doctor Saotome was leering crudely at Ranma. His trousers  
were missing and he was leaning up against Nurse Akane's nether  
regions in a way that made it absolutely clear what he was doing  
to her.  
  
"You can be next, Nurse Ranma," Doctor Saotome offered.  
  
"No... Akane," Ranma whispered. "Why? I thought you loved  
someone else."  
  
"I'm sorry, Ranma," Akane whimpered. She cried out as  
Doctor Saotome began forcefully thrusting against her. "He  
threatened to tell everyone my secret if I didn't submit to him."  
  
"No! Akane!" Ranma screamed, tears freely streaming down  
his face. "You didn't have to do this. You had me! Why did you let  
him do this to you?"  
  
"Please, Ranma," Akane cried. "Please don't make it harder  
than it already is."  
  
"NO!" Ranma yelled, but found herself backing away from  
the obscenity. "No! This isn't happening. It's just a dream!"  
  
"Of course it's a dream, Ran-chan," Doctor Kuonji said,  
grabbing Ranma from behind. "It's my dream come true. Now you're  
all mine!"  
  
"What?" Ranma yelled feeling Doctor Kuonji's naked body  
pressing into hers. She shuddered, and stared ahead in horror,  
realizing that the hard shaft that pressed into her back indicated  
that it was a man's body.  
  
"This isn't real," Ranma protested, trying to wrench away  
from the cross-dressing doctor. "Ucchan is a girl! Besides, I  
thought you were sleeping with him," she said, jerking her head in  
Doctor Saotome's direction.  
  
"Girl, boy, what's the difference?" Doctor Saotome asked,  
leaning away from Nurse Akane. He roughly flipped her over on the  
table and spread her legs with his knees. He leaned in again,  
taking Nurse Akane from behind.  
  
"Ah... Ah... Ah... Doctor... Oooooh..." Akane moaned,  
clutching at the table.  
  
"Now, Nurse," Doctor Kuonji stated in a professional tone  
as Ranma stared in horror at the sight in front of her. "If you'll  
just allow me to remove your dress, we can begin the examination."  
  
"NO!" Ranma screamed. She twisted free of Tofuu's grasp  
and leapt into the fight before Mousse could stab Ryouga again.  
She was too late. Mousse's blade sunk into Ryouga's side. Blood  
sprayed all over, pouring out in a great fountain. Ryouga fell to  
his knees, dying.  
  
Ranma was lying on her face, across from Akane. Doctor  
Kuonji was holding her hands behind her back, and lifting her  
skirt up. Ranma cried out as Doctor Kuonji pulled her panties  
down, but was unable to struggle free.  
  
She finally jerked free of Doctor Kuonji's grasp before  
his long, blade-like phallus sank into her. She twisted and kicked  
the doctor's chin, but he shrugged the blow off and advanced on  
Ranma.  
  
She turned, horrified to see Akane's discarded, bloody  
body on the floor, her lifeless eyes staring blankly up at Ranma.  
Doctor Saotome, now completely unclad like Kuonji, advanced on  
her.  
  
"I've wanted you for a long time, Ranma," he said in a  
threatening tone.  
  
"It won't hurt at all," Doctor Kuonji promised. "Give me  
your body, Ranma."  
  
"NO!" Ranma screamed, clutching her arms in front of her  
face. "NO!!"  
  
"NO!!"  
  
"NO!!!"  
  
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!"  
  
"I'll save you, Ranma," a calm voice said.  
  
It was Ryouga. He smiled softly and held out his hand to  
her.  
  
Ranma grabbed his hand and leaned into his embrace.  
"You're alive!" she said as the rest of the world shattered around  
them.  
  
Doctor Saotome and Doctor Kuonji were gone, replaced by  
the cool night and the Tendou's back yard.  
  
"I'll always save you, Ranma," Ryouga said, holding her  
close to him.  
  
Ranma inhaled, savoring the man's scent, and delighting in  
the feel of his broad, muscular chest. She wrapped her arms around  
his back. Since he was wearing only his boxers, just like the  
night before, Ranma could feel every inch of his flesh. She could  
feel the muscles bunch and coil under her hands.  
  
He leaned in, dropping his lips to meet hers.  
  
She brought her face up to meet his, afraid, for some  
reason. She could feel everything around her trying to take him  
away from her. She kissed him passionately, trying to hold him  
there with her mouth and her arms.  
  
"Please don't leave me, Ryouga," Ranma pleaded in a  
whisper voice. "Please stay with me."  
  
"I'll always be here for you, Ranma," Ryouga assured her.  
He lowered his arms, and gently lifted her. He kneeled and set her  
down on the cool grass next to the koi pond.  
  
And then her hands were all over him, touching his chest,  
touching his face. Ryouga's hands were all over her, pulling her  
Chinese tang off over her head, sliding her panties down over her  
hips and knees.  
  
Ranma wrapped her arms around his face and pulled him in.  
She worked her mouth against his, thrusting her tongue inside.  
  
Ryouga's hands were on her thighs, she realized. He was  
lifting them, and spreading them apart. And then he pushed himself  
inside her.  
  
Wasn't it supposed to hurt, Ranma thought to herself. Was  
it supposed to feel this wonderful?  
  
"Don't die, Ryouga," she pleaded as she brought her knees  
up and wrapped her ankles behind the boy's back. "Please don't  
leave me," she begged, feeling the rushing pleasure as he began to  
buck up and down.  
  
Ryouga answered her with a kiss as his powerful motions  
crushed the grass beneath her.  
  
Ranma felt the wave of pleasure coming before ever it  
hit...  
  
* * *  
  
"RYOUGA!!" Ranma screamed, bolting upright on the cot  
where she had been sleeping.  
  
Akane jerked awake. She had dozed off in the small  
examination room, waiting for Ranma to reawaken, or for news from  
Ryouga's surgery.  
  
Nodoka was already leaning over her child, who was visibly  
shaking. "Ranma, are you okay? Ranma-chan?"  
  
"Oh god," Ranma whimpered, coming awake. "Oh god. Ryouga's  
dead. And... And..." The memories of what she had just dreamt  
assailed her.  
  
"No, Ranma. He's alive," Akane assured her. "He's in  
surgery right now. He'll live. Doctor Tofuu said he would live."  
  
"He very nearly didn't, but the surgeon who operated on  
him is very talented," Tofuu said, stepping into the room. He was  
still wearing scrubs. "But yes, Ryouga is alive and well. He's on  
his way to recovery right now. I see you're finally awake, Ranma."  
  
Ranma was sobbing into her hands. "Oh, god. Oh, god..."  
  
"Ranma what's wrong?" Akane asked.  
  
"Ryouga, was there... and Mousse... and all the blood...  
and..."  
  
"Ryouga's okay, Ranma," Tofuu said, pulling out a small  
scope to examine the girl's pupils. "He's probably already coming  
out of anaesthesia."  
  
"Ryouga's okay?" Ranma asked, tears of confused emotion  
still rolling down her face.  
  
Tofuu nodded.  
  
"Where?"  
  
Tofuu led Ranma and Akane out of the examination room and  
up the elevator to a recovery ward on the second floor of the  
hospital. Akane made Ranma stop so that she could wipe the red-  
head's face with a tissue.  
  
"What's wrong with her, Doctor Tofuu?" Akane asked as  
Ranma ran across the ward.  
  
"Probably just a bad dream," Tofuu said. "The pressure  
point Ambassador Soap used to knock her out stimulates dreaming.  
After what she had just seen, I can only imagine the nightmares  
she could have had."  
  
Ranma found the door next to which the lost boy's medical  
chart was hanging. She poked her head inside to see Yoiko sitting  
in a chair on the other side of the bed. The little girl looked up  
and smiled.  
  
Ranma took a few more hesitant steps inside.  
  
Ryouga was laying on the bed, propped up slightly. His  
face was a little pale, but he looked peaceful. An EKG next to him  
beeped a regular, reassuring tone.  
  
As Ranma approached the bed, still trembling, Ryouga  
opened one eye.  
  
"You were right, Ranma," he rasped in a weak voice. "I  
won."  
  
Ranma nodded, and burst into tears again. She buried her  
face in the sheet covering Ryouga's chest and started to cry.  
  
* * *  
  
After the trauma surgeon bullied Ranma and everyone else  
out of the room, Akane, Yoiko and Tofuu explained what had  
happened to her and Ryouga.  
  
Yoiko, upset that Ranma had predicted that Mousse and  
Ryouga would kill each other, made the hard decision to abandon  
her brother and seek help. She remembered the address from the  
paper Cologne had given Ranma the previous day.  
  
The address turned out to be the Chinese Embassy, and the  
room number listed was the personal suite belonging to the  
People's Ambassador to Japan.  
  
It turned out that Ambassador Soap had been expecting  
something similar, since her grandmother had warned her the  
previous day.  
  
"Wait a second," Ranma asked in surprise. "Shampoo's *mom*  
is the Chinese Ambassador?"  
  
Akane nodded. "It was a surprise to all of us, Especially  
Shampoo, since she thought her mother didn't know she was in  
Japan. I understand that both she and Mousse are in a lot of  
trouble right now."  
  
"That's messed up," Ranma commented.  
  
Soap was indeed an Amazon, but had left the tribe in favor  
of a political life. It was her Amazon skill with pressure points  
that allowed her to end the fight before Ryouga was forced to kill  
Mousse and also to keep Ranma from getting involved in the  
bloodshed. She had already summoned two ambulances that took  
everyone to the hospital.  
  
Since he had no serious injuries, Mousse was treated for  
his scrapes and bruises, checked out, and released into the  
custody of the Ambassador. Soap took Shampoo and Mousse back to  
the embassy with her, Mousse under heavy guard.  
  
Ryouga's injuries were severe enough to land him in trauma  
surgery. It seemed that Mousse's dagger sliced open his intestine  
and damaged one of his kidneys. The trauma surgeon, Doctor Hashi,  
as she introduced herself, managed to stop the bleeding and save  
Ryouga's kidney.  
  
"Now, I want to know why you woke up screaming Ryouga's  
name," Akane said. "Did you have a nightmare or something."  
  
"Yeah," Ranma said, trying to forget the echoes of what  
she felt in the dream. "A nightmare."  
  
* * *  
  
Despite the seriousness of the surgery, Ryouga was a quick  
healer, and was on his feet only a few days later. Kasumi played  
surrogate big-sister to Yoiko the entire time he was in the  
hospital. Ranma noted that Kasumi seemed to enjoy spending time  
with the little girl and Yoiko enjoyed all the gentle mothering,  
and even learned to not struggle so much while being bathed.  
  
It was the second day after Ryouga had been released from  
the hospital that Yoiko knocked on Akane's door while she and  
Ranma were studying.  
  
She was carrying P-chan.  
  
"My baby!" Akane cooed, reaching out her arms.  
  
In panic, Ranma closely examined the piglet to see if he  
was suffering or bleeding from his wounds after changing. Yoiko  
seemed to be very carefully holding her hand over his back, hiding  
the sutures.  
  
"I'm sorry, Abby, but he's my piglet. Oniichan told me you  
adopted him."  
  
Akane blinked, and stared at the pair.  
  
Did Yoiko know? Ranma did her best to calm her breathing  
and her pounding heart.  
  
"He's... yours?" Akane asked in shock.  
  
"I'm sorry. He's always getting lost, just like my  
oniichan," Yoiko half-lied. "And I was so busy looking for my  
oniichan, that I guess he found you instead of me pretty often.  
I'm glad you took such good care of him."  
  
Akane gulped, tears coming to her eyes.  
  
P-chan bweed sadly, but made no effort to leave Yoiko's  
embrace.  
  
"I think he cares a lot about you," Yoiko said. "But I  
want to take him home to be with Oniichan while he recovers."  
  
"I... I understand," Akane said in a broken-up voice.  
  
Ranma watched the scene unfold before her with a neutral  
expression.  
  
"I already sent my oniichan home in a cab," Yoiko said,  
mangling the truth somewhat, "but he asked me to say something to  
you before I left."  
  
Akane nodded, wiping her eyes on the hem of her skirt.  
  
Yoiko gulped and P-chan looked almost terrified. "My  
oniichan said that he had a crush on you for a long time, and that  
he still really cares about you."  
  
Akane nodded seriously. "I thought that he might have. I  
was never really sure."  
  
"He also said that he did some dishonorable things to try  
to be with you."  
  
Akane blinked in surprise.  
  
"He deceived you, and forced Rainbow to lie to you. My  
oniichan says he's very sorry, and that he'll try his best never  
to let those things happen again. He says that it was not Randy's  
fault that he lied to you, and to please forgive her."  
  
Akane looked stunned. She glanced at Ranma once.  
  
Ranma nodded.  
  
"Thank you for letting me and my Oniichan stay here so  
long," the little girl said before she left. "Oh, one last thing.  
As soon as you both get better, my Oniichan says he wants to fight  
you in a duel to the death, Raoul."  
  
Ranma smiled and laughed out loud. "You can tell your  
Oniichan," she said, staring directly at P-chan, "That I'll kick  
his ass from here to Jusenkyou!"  
  
Yoiko smiled and left.  
  
"You lied to me?" Akane asked, her voice full of sadness.  
"Ryouga forced you to lie to me?"  
  
"Yeah." Ranma felt like a ten ton weight had just been  
lifted from her shoulders. "I'm sorry, Akane."  
  
"That's why you were fighting all the time, wasn't it?"  
Akane realized. "You were... you were fighting over me."  
  
"Why would I want to..." Ranma paused and exhaled. "Yeah.  
Yeah, we were kinda fighting... fighting over you."  
  
"Oh, Ranma!" Akane's eyes teared over, and she buried her  
face in Ranma's shirt.  
  
Ranma felt the weight replaced by a new nervousness. What  
had she just let herself in for?  
  
More importantly, Ranma thought to herself as she tried to  
figure out what to do with Akane, when would the dreams stop?  
  
-----  
  
~to be continued... 


	9. Burning

Ranma and his friends belong to Rumiko Takahashi. They're used  
here without permission.  
  
This story contains some adult material. Reader discretion is  
advised.  
  
------------------------------  
newRanma 9: Burning  
  
by Chris Jones  
------------------------------  
  
Ranma struggled futilely at the bonds that held her wrists  
together. She could feel the edge of Tendou's table digging into  
her neck. No matter how she twisted, she couldn't break free.  
  
"Please, Daddy," she begged, tears coursing down her face.  
"Don't do this!"  
  
"Be quiet, Ranma," Genma growled, bringing all his weight  
to bear on his child's kicking legs. After finally managing to  
halt her trashing, he looped a coil of rope around each of her  
ankles. He used the rope to bind them to opposite legs of the  
table.  
  
Then, to Ranma's horror, he began to remove his own  
clothes.  
  
"NO! DADDY, NO!"  
  
Exposed, and helpless, Ranma began to scream.  
  
* * *  
  
Ranma woke breathing hard and covered in a sheen of sweat.  
Gulping in air, she forced herself into a sitting position. Next  
to her, she could see the curved shape of her father's back slowly  
rising and falling in the moonlight. Occasionally, a great snore  
tore the silence of the night, rumbling in a deep bass register.  
  
Ranma exhaled, and began to take low, deep breaths. She  
tried to lay back down, but after only a few seconds, hopped to  
her feet. She grabbed a pillow and her futon, and padded silently  
out of the room.  
  
She knocked on Akane's door.  
  
After a few seconds, rubbing the sleep-crust out of one  
eye, Akane opened the door and stared blearily at Ranma.  
  
"Akane, can I sleep in your room?"  
  
"Huh?" Akane asked in the confusion that plagues people  
who have just woken. "You have your own room, Ranma," she  
grumbled.  
  
"Pops is in there tonight."  
  
"Mmm... Jus' second," Akane said, closing her door.  
  
There was a rustling sound from behind the door for a few  
seconds. Akane opened the door again, and pointed to a spot on the  
floor across from her bed.  
  
"Thanks," Ranma said, spreading her futon out.  
  
"Mmm... No hentai stuff," Akane mumbled climbing under her  
covers.  
  
"NO!" Ranma agreed fervently.  
  
* * *  
  
"Ran-chan?" Ukyou asked the next afternoon. "Are you okay,  
honey?"  
  
"Hmm?" Ranma looked up from her plate. "Huh?"  
  
"You're not eating. Is something bothering you?"  
  
Ranma glanced down. She had taken a few bites of the  
okonomiyaki that Ukyou had served her, but had mostly just been  
cutting it into smaller and smaller pieces while she was lost in  
thought. "Uh... no. Just... I ain't been sleepin' too good. Ya  
know?"  
  
Ukyou smiled wickedly. "Maybe it's because you're always  
sleeping on the floor in that cold, hard futon. I wouldn't mind if  
you stayed over and slept with me for a few nights."  
  
"Uh..."  
  
"It'd do you a lot of good," Ukyou suggested in a  
reasonable tone.  
  
"Maybe some other time, Ucchan," Ranma said. She shuddered  
slightly. The last thing she wanted to do was give herself reason  
to spend time with *anyone* else just before she went to sleep.  
She didn't remember having any dreams after she went to sleep on  
Akane's floor, but...  
  
"Are you sure you're okay, Ran-chan?" Ukyou asked. "You  
don't look very happy."  
  
"I... I just got a lot on my mind, okay?"  
  
Ukyou sighed. She knew that Ranma had just gotten back  
from a trip to the psychologist's office. She wondered if that old  
quack was helping her fiancee, or just causing problems.  
  
* * *  
  
"And you continued to have the dreams, even after you left  
the hospital?" Makuna asked, earlier that day.  
  
Ranma nodded, a haunted expression on her face. "Yeah.  
Every night. Sometimes more than once or twice in the same night.  
It's been like this for a week."  
  
Makuna glanced at her once. Her eyes were wide, and she  
was trembling somewhat as she spoke. She had pulled her legs up  
into the chair and had wrapped her arms around them. She was  
almost curled into a fetal position.  
  
"Without exception, the dreams you've been having are  
about... men?"  
  
Ranma nodded. "Except for Ucchan, who's really a girl. In  
the dreams, she's always a man. But yeah, it's always men.  
Sometimes it's her, or Ryouga again, or Mousse, or the guys from  
school, or even my guy-side. God, those are awful. Sometimes it's  
Doctor Tofuu, and sometimes it's Akane's dad. Last night..." Ranma  
gulped, unable to continue.  
  
"It was your father?" Makuna-sensei asked.  
  
"He... I think he had a fight with my mom," Ranma said  
weakly. "We were all three sleepin' in the same room until my  
surgery, and after that, Kasumi cleaned out the room Happosai had  
been staying in for them so that they would have more privacy.  
Anyway, he came into the guest room and rolled out his futon, and  
went to sleep there instead of with my mom. And then... and  
then..." Ranma gulped loudly. She clenched her teeth, horror and  
self loathing beginning to show on her face.  
  
Makuna put down his pad and pencil. He folded his hands  
together and looked at the girl seriously.  
  
"Ranma," he began, "Erotic dreams are probably one of the  
most common problems my patients bring to me, especially when,  
like in your case, they dream about sexual relations with those  
they would never seriously consider in real life. I want you to  
know that dreams like those you describe are normal and even  
common."  
  
"Even... even the ones that... that..." Ranma was  
stuttering badly, unable to complete her sentence.  
  
"Even the dreams that are violent in nature," Makuna  
assured her. "Do you seriously belive that your father would even  
*consider* raping you?"  
  
Ranma shook her head, trying to keep the tears out of her  
eyes. Damn it! Why was she having so much trouble keeping from  
crying lately?  
  
"Ranma," Makuna said. "Right now, you are a young woman  
with a young woman's brain structures, a young woman's glands, and  
a young woman's hormones. The things you are dreaming about are  
perfectly normal for a young woman. Now unless I'm mistaken, with  
the exception of last night, most of these dreams are pleasant up  
until you actually wake up, correct?"  
  
Ranma nodded, her eyes puffy and red.  
  
"And I don't think you would be nearly so upset if the  
subject of your dreams was female rather than male. Perhaps you  
should try to remember that while you are dreaming. Not everyone  
can do that, of course, but if you make the decision to dream  
about sex with a woman instead of a man, you can probably alter  
your dreams so that they don't upset you so much."  
  
"I'll try." Ranma said hesitantly  
  
"And, of course, you can fantasize about either gender as  
much or as little as you like during waking hours."  
  
"What?" Ranma asked.  
  
"You know," Makuna explained. "Sexual fantasy? Imagining  
having sex with whomever you choose."  
  
Ranma blinked in surprise, as if the notion had never  
occurred to her before.  
  
* * *  
  
After leaving Ucchan's, Ranma did her best to keep from  
thinking about the okonomiyaki chef's body moving against hers. It  
was true that she had thought about the way that Ukyou's body  
looked, especially when the chef was wearing snug pants or the  
tights she usually wore with her okonomiyaki vendor's uniform. Now  
it was all she could do not to think about having those long,  
slender legs wrapped around her body.  
  
In the light of day, the traumatic nightmare she had had  
the night before faded in her memory. It was replaced in intensity  
with more gentle images of Ukyou. Good ol' Ucchan, who looked  
great in feminine clothes. Good ol' Ucchan, who would look even  
better in no clothes at all.  
  
Was this what Makuna-sensei meant by 'sexual fantasy'?  
  
By the time she returned home, Ranma's face was burning  
red.  
  
"Tadaima!" Ranma called out upon stepping into the front  
room, her hands thrust down into the pockets of her baggy pants.  
  
"Hello, Ranma-chan," Kasumi said, smiling at the shorter  
girl as she walked past, carrying a basket of laundry.  
  
Ranma couldn't help but notice the way the tall girl's  
full, pert breasts bounced with every step. Ranma gulped, seeing  
in her mind those same breasts unbound by clothing or lingerie.  
Cherry-like nipples pointed alternately towards the heavens and  
the earth. Ranma's ears began to burn.  
  
Gulping, she turned away from Kasumi and ran into the  
kitchen. She went to the faucet and turned on the cold water.  
Hoping that it would cool down the burning feeling all over her  
face and neck, Ranma leaned over and began to drink from the  
spigot.  
  
"Oh, hi, Ranma," Akane said from behind her.  
  
Her eyes wide, Ranma turned to see Akane, who was standing  
on the other side of the counter wearing a pair of oven mitts and  
an apron over her short dress. She was beating a rather sticky-  
looking mixture of dough and egg whites in a copper mixing bowl.  
  
"Uhh, hi," Ranma mumbled.  
  
"Are you doing okay?" Akane asked. "You look flushed."  
  
"I... ah... ran all the way back from the doctor's  
office," Ranma lied, hoping that Akane couldn't tell that in  
Ranma's mind's eye, she was wearing *only* an apron and oven  
mitts, and that the sticky batter clung to her body in small  
clumps, just waiting for Ranma to lick them away.  
  
"Would you like to try some of my cookies later?" Akane  
said. "I've been working hard on the recipe and--"  
  
"Sure, I'll have a taste," Ranma said, her eyes crossing,  
"Huh?" Did she just volunteer to eat Akane's cooking? What had  
that moron Makuna got her into?!  
  
"You don't look so good, Ranma," Akane said in concern.  
"Maybe you should lie down."  
  
"Yeah," Ranma agreed. Laying down where she couldn't see  
anyone sounded like a very good idea. She turned to walk out of  
the kitchen. "You know, Akane. You'd probably have an easier time  
if you took off your dr-- mitts."  
  
"You think so?"  
  
Did she just almost tell Akane to take off her dress? God,  
what was wrong with her?!  
  
"Hey, Ranma-kun," Nabiki greeted her as she ran up the  
stairs. "You want to run an errand for me?"  
  
Only if it involves taking all our clothes off and...  
  
"Yipe!" Ranma cried out, running away from Nabiki and into  
her room. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't quit thinking  
about Nabiki's naked body draped all over her own. Their lips and  
hands roamed all over, kissing, sucking, caressing, pinching...  
  
Ranma began to shake. She knelt on her futon and buried  
her face in her pillow.  
  
"Ranma-chan," a voice sounded out behind her. "Are you  
okay? Kasumi said that she thought you weren't feeling well."  
  
Ranma's shaking intensified as a pair of slender arms  
wrapped around her waist. They lifted her out of her crouch. Ranma  
suddenly felt herself being held close to a lithe, feminine body.  
  
"Mom?" Ranma squeaked.  
  
The woman's light perfume and the scent of her hair  
permeated Ranma's senses. She could feel a pair of breasts softly  
pushing into her back.  
  
"What is it, Ranma?" Nodoka asked, gently caressing her  
son-turned-daughter's face in motherly concern.  
  
Ranma screamed, broke out of her mother's embrace, and ran  
from the house.  
  
* * *  
  
Over the course of the next few days, Ranma had to relearn  
concentration. She did her best to never glance at any of the  
women in the house below the collar. She felt uncomfortable and  
vulnerable the whole time. Worse, whenever her mother came near  
her, Ranma felt like she wanted to wash her mind out with soap.  
  
'Soul of Ice' had gone completely out the window. Instead,  
Ranma felt like she had a constant fever.  
  
The dreams and nightmares continued with no abatement.  
Ranma just couldn't seem to summon the level of will necessary to  
realize she was dreaming whenever the erotic visions assailed her.  
One or two of the dreams were incredibly violent. Ranma didn't  
know what was worse, the violent, rapacious dreams, or the dreams  
in which she participated willingly.  
  
Another visit to the psychologist was no help. After  
telling her to make a note of it if the violent dreams occured  
more often, Makuna-sensei informed her that what she was going  
through was normal and suggested that she do her best to enjoy the  
ride.  
  
Ranma did her best to regain a new equilibrium. She spent  
all day most days doing her best to bury herself in training or  
homework. She spent most evenings curled up into a tiny ball in  
her futon, consumed in licentious fantasy about the women around  
her but dreading the dreams about the men that would come just as  
soon as fell asleep.  
  
There was no relief for her and it was beginning to show.  
Ranma noticed her usually steady hands begin to tremble. Her voice  
began to quaver, and the vocal slips became more and more  
frequent.  
  
"Ranma, would you translate the sentence on the  
chalkboard?" Hinako asked one day in class.  
  
"Ah... Uhh... P-please remove your clothing because I  
can't see your brea-- Wait a second. That can't be right."  
  
Hinako sweatdropped. "Ukyou-kun," she prompted as everyone  
in the glass began to giggle quietly. "Would you please translate  
the sentence?"  
  
"Please remove your hat because I can't see the movie  
screen," Ukyou said quietly, her eyes fixed on Ranma.  
  
The red-head's blush was deepening into the purple range.  
She wished she could just sink down in her seat and out of sight.  
Worse, she could feel that daggers that Ukyou and Akane were  
staring into her back.  
  
* * *  
  
"Cute move in class today," Hiroshi noted as Ranma stormed  
into the boys' locker room after lunch. "I can't see your breasts!  
That's gonna be a classic."  
  
"Shut up, Hiroshi," Ranma hissed, glaring around at  
everyone around her.  
  
Most of the boys, Hiroshi and Daisuke being the notable  
exceptions, quickly pulled on their gym clothes and vacated the  
locker room.  
  
"You've been kinda weird lately, Ranma," Daisuke noted,  
lounging against one of the lockers. "Somethin' been eating at  
you?"  
  
"Hmm... maybe it's this GODDAMNED CURSE!" she snapped. "It  
has been forty-two days since I've been able to piss standing up.  
Do you have any idea what that would do to a man? I would commit  
seppuku right now if it meant I didn't have to squat to pee."  
  
"Damn," Hiroshi said, whistling. Ranma was fairly shaking.  
"I knew it was tough on you, but I didn't realize it was bugging  
you so much."  
  
"You're almost to the half-way point," Daisuke said,  
gripping Ranma's shoulder in encouragement. "Only about nine or  
ten more weeks, right?"  
  
The touch was like lightning. His fingers, closing on  
her... His hand, caressing her flesh... His body was so close to  
hers. Every nerve ending in Ranma's body caught fire. Every hair  
stood on end. Her belly began to burn and her knees started to  
clench.  
  
"Don't do that!" Ranma shouted.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Dai, if you don't take your hand off me, I'm gonna tear  
it off," Ranma warned, in an agitated tone.  
  
Daisuke pulled his hand away, staring in concern and more  
than a little bit of fear.  
  
"Ranma, you okay?" Hiroshi asked.  
  
"NO! I'm not okay!" Ranma yelled, feeling the wetness  
begin to gather at the corner of her eyes. She wouldn't cry! She  
wouldn't! Not in front of these two. Never!  
  
Ranma clenched her fists and took a deep breath. She  
opened her eyes again to see Daisuke counting on his fingers.  
  
"What are you doing?" she asked.  
  
"Uhh... six weeks," Daisuke concluded. "Right?"  
  
Hiroshi made some frantic 'no' gestures, which Ranma just  
barely caught out of the corner of her eye.  
  
"What?" she asked.  
  
"Uhh... Damn. I'm about to get beat up," Daisuke said.  
"Well..."  
  
"Out with it, Dai," Ranma said in a threatening tone.  
  
Hiroshi shook his head sadly. "Daisuke, we hardly knew  
ye..."  
  
"It's not PMS," Daisuke said, cringing away from Ranma. "I  
mean, not unless you get it a *lot* earlier than any of the other  
women I know."  
  
"P-P-PMS?" Ranma asked, her voice raising.  
  
"Ranma, don't kill Daisuke. His mother will never forgive  
me for letting him die," Hiroshi said.  
  
"You think.... You think I've got... got..."  
  
"Calm down, Ranma," Hiroshi said, stepping behind the girl  
and putting his hand on her arm.  
  
Ranma froze. She could feel the warmth of his body through  
her clothes. She could feel her nipples stiffening, dragging  
across the fabric inside her shirt. His hand burned where it  
touched her.  
  
Ranma yelped and jumped away from the two.  
  
"Stay away!" she shouted.  
  
"Seriously, Ranma," Hiroshi said. "You've gotta calm down,  
or you're gonna blow a fuse."  
  
"Yeah," Ranma said, her body shaking. Her legs seemed to  
be having trouble supporting her weight. "Calm down. Yeah..." She  
wanted nothing more than to collapse on the floor and... and...  
  
Cry? That wasn't right. She wanted to cry, but she also  
wanted to scream in frustration and tear off all her clothes  
and... and... and...  
  
"Here, bud," Daisuke said, picking Ranma's satchel up off  
the floor where she had thrown it when she walked in. "Go home and  
cool off for a while."  
  
After a few seconds' thought, he opened his own satchel  
and pulled out several thick manga and transferred them to  
Ranma's. "Look at these if you want. They're great for  
relaxation."  
  
"Relaxation," Hiroshi noted sarcastically. "Yeah,  
something like that, at any rate."  
  
"Maybe you're right," Ranma said, trying to get her ragged  
breathing under control. "I gotta calm down. I... Yeah. Going home  
sounds like a good idea."  
  
The two young men watched Ranma walk shakily out of the  
room.  
  
"Note to self," Hiroshi said. "Don't touch Ranma anymore  
when he's a she."  
  
"What? Why not?" Daisuke asked, looking at his own hand.  
"What do you think's gotten into her?"  
  
"Same thing that gets into any other girl," Hiroshi said.  
  
Daisuke blinked. "I don't have sisters or a steady  
girlfriend. For those of us less privileged, will you please  
enlighten us?"  
  
Hiroshi nodded. "Would you horse around with any *other*  
girl like you just were with Ranma?"  
  
"Well, no. Not unless I was... you know."  
  
"And then it wouldn't really be horsing around, would it?"  
Hiroshi asked, beginning to change into his gym clothes.  
  
Daisuke's eyes widened.  
  
"When we were younger, my sister and I wrestled a lot,"  
Hiroshi said quietly. "We had tickle fights and pillow fights and  
things like that. When we started getting a little older, we... we  
had to stop," he admitted. "It started to get weird. It started to  
be more than just playing," he said in a voice tinged with shame.  
"Two guys can wrestle or punch each other or slap each other on  
the back. Two girls can hug, or even kiss. If a guy puts his hands  
on a girl, even if it's really innocent, it still means  
something."  
  
"But... No! Ranma's different," Daisuke protested.  
"She's... He's a guy! Right?"  
  
"You tell me," Hiroshi said. "If you didn't know she was  
really a guy... Hell, before we did know she was a guy, we were  
trying to get Ranma to introduce us to his cute sister! The point  
is, even if it doesn't mean anything to us, I think it's starting  
to mean something to her."  
  
The two boys looked seriously at each other for a second  
and then turned away to finish putting on their gym clothes.  
  
"I don't think we should tell anyone," Daisuke said as  
they left the locker room, "especially not Ranma."  
  
"Agreed," Hiroshi said. "God, I hope she changes back  
soon. This is starting to get really messed up."  
  
* * *  
  
Ranma visited the school infirmary and told the matronly  
nurse inside that she needed to leave for the day. Since Ranma was  
more or less still under doctor's supervision, she could get away  
with leaving whenever she felt 'sick' or 'tired'. She hadn't  
abused her privileges much, simply because she had had quite  
enough of lazing around the house. Right now, however, she didn't  
know what she felt, but knew that if she stayed around other  
people much longer it was going to come boiling out of her.  
  
Instead of going home, she went to the Nerima Zoo. Staying  
well away from the big cats, Ranma made her way over to the  
primate cages. There was a peanut dispenser next to the spider  
monkey cage, so she bought a double handful of peanuts. She threw  
them one by one to the screeching animals, trying all the while to  
sort out what was going on inside her tormented brain.  
  
What she had felt, when Hiroshi and Daisuke had oh-so  
innocently laid hands on her, was not so innocent a feeling.  
  
It was a feeling she didn't want, especially when it came  
from guys.  
  
Ranma felt out of control, like her body was trying to  
make her decisions for her. Even if she didn't like it, she had to  
admit to herself that the feelings the two inspired were the now-  
familiar sensations of arousal. The quickening of pulse and  
breath, the tingling of her skin, the urgent, almost burning  
sensation from her abdomen, the slight moisture that seemed to  
accumulate between her legs -- all those symptoms were present. It  
horrified her. It disgusted her.  
  
"Stupid body," Ranma grumbled. "Stupid hormones. Stupid,  
freakin' Tofuu-sensei."  
  
Makuna seemed to be no help at all either. In fact, the  
psychologist seemed quite content that what Ranma was going  
through was normal and to be expected. Well, Ranma didn't like it!  
Her... *HIS* whole life had been spent in training to perfectly  
control her... *HIS* body. All that control and self-confidence  
seemed to be going out the window.  
  
Ranma had been shaken to her core. All her carefully-honed  
skills were starting to wane from over a month of disuse. All her  
techniques were becoming rusty from sitting idle. In return, she  
was now subject to a whole world full of urges and pressures that  
she was ill-equipped to deal with.  
  
"I wish I had never had the damned surgery," Ranma  
mumbled. "*Anything* would be better than this."  
  
One of her thrown peanuts bounced off a monkey's head.  
Another monkey snatched it before he could get to it. The animal  
screeched, angry that he had missed his snack.  
  
Jostled out of her depression, Ranma giggled quietly and  
tossed another peanut. This one lodged in the chain-link fence  
that surrounded the monkeys' area.  
  
"Sorry," Ranma laughed, seeing the monkey scramble up the  
chain link to claim the nut before any of his fellows saw it.  
  
The monkey, and it was obviously male from what Ranma  
could see as it climbed, dropped back to the floor of the cage and  
began to chew on the peanut, gnawing through the pulpy hull and  
into the meat of the nut.  
  
Then another monkey came over, intent on stealing the  
morsel.  
  
The first monkey screeched and batted at the second. Then,  
for apparently no reason at all, the second monkey jumped on the  
first monkey's back and began to hump.  
  
Ranma blinked.  
  
The bottom-most monkey seemed to be getting into it, and  
abandoned his peanut.  
  
"What the hell are you two doing?" Ranma yelled.  
  
"SCREECH!SCREECH!SCREECH!SCREECH!SCREECH!SCREECH!" both  
monkeys yelled, intent on their shared task.  
  
"AAAGGHH! You're both boys!"  
  
"Haw! I'm afraid that's pretty useless, missy," a old man  
said from nearby. He was clad in the zoo's uniform and was  
sweeping the walk in front of the cage. "They're just little  
animals, and do what they want. They don't care what no one  
thinks." He leered toothlessly at Ranma.  
  
"Fine, you can all be perverts," she said, tossing the  
rest of her peanuts into the cage. "I don't care if everyone in  
the world is a pervert!"  
  
* * *  
  
"Ranma no hentai!" Akane yelled.  
  
Both girls stared in horror at Ranma's satchel, which had  
fallen over in the Tendou's living room after Ranma returned home  
that afternoon.  
  
"They're not mine!" Ranma screamed in protest.  
  
Indeed, the magazines that Daisuke had placed in her bag  
had fallen out. Before Ranma realized what had happened, Akane had  
seen the covers of 'Lunatic Paradise 9', a naughty Sailor Moon  
doujinshi, and 'Lovely Tentacle Warrior Force Sexy', which Ranma  
didn't even want to guess about.  
  
"Whose are they then?" Akane demanded in an accusing tone.  
"Why would you have them if they weren't yours?"  
  
"Daisuke put them there. I wasn't even watching! I swear!"  
  
"What on earth are we arguing about, ladies?" Nabiki  
asked, striding into the room.  
  
Ranma grabbed the magazines away from Akane and stuffed  
them back into the satchel.  
  
"Roses of Passion," Nabiki read, picking up a third book  
that had somehow escaped Ranma and Akane's notice. "Hmmm... very  
nice artwork," she noted, flipping through the pages. "I knew  
you've been reading Utena lately, Ranma, but I had no clue you  
were into doujinshi like this."  
  
Nabiki held the book up, which prominently displayed a  
naked, gagged Utena on the cover. She was bound with thorny rose  
vines while Anthy stood behind her wearing a leather bustier and  
holding a bull-whip.  
  
"AARRGHH!! IT'S NOT MINE!" Ranma shouted.  
  
"What's not yours?" Genma asked.  
  
Ranma snatched the Utena doujinshi and stuffed it into her  
satchel. "Nothing, Pops!" she screamed. Her eyes were wide and her  
hands were shaking.  
  
"I want nothing to do with you, you pervert!" Akane  
yelled, storming away.  
  
"Ranma! Why have you upset your fiancee?" Soun demanded,  
entering the room and standing next to Genma.  
  
"I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!" Ranma yelled.  
  
"It's not manly to lie, Ranma-chan," Nodoka warned from  
behind her.  
  
"Someone tell me what's going on!" Genma demanded. "Are  
you holding out on me, boy? If you've got food, it's only decent  
to share with your poor, undernourished father."  
  
"It's nothing like that!" Ranma protested.  
  
"Ranma *is* hiding something," Nabiki said. "I could be  
persuaded to spill the beans, Uncle Saotome."  
  
"Beans? I'll give you a shiny ten-yen piece!" Genma  
offered.  
  
"Please!" Nabiki said in an insulted tone. "I wouldn't  
think of releasing any information for less than five thousand!"  
  
"Okay," Genma said, reaching into his pocket.  
  
"Nabiki!" Ranma yelled in horror.  
  
"You can always outbid him, Ranma-kun."  
  
"Okay," Ranma said quietly. "Here's my bid. If you don't  
tell anyone, then maybe I won't break BOTH YOUR ARMS!" Her tone  
rose until she was screaming in Nabiki's face.  
  
Nabiki shrank back, startled by both the intensity and  
fury in Ranma's expression and the tears rolling down her cheeks.  
  
"Okay! Okay... Geez, Ranma," Nabiki said, cringing in  
genuine fear. "Calm down--"  
  
"WHY THE HELL DOES EVERYONE KEEP TELLING ME TO CALM  
DOWN!?!?" Ranma screamed, whirling on her family. "I'M CALM! CAN'T  
YOU SEE THAT I'M CALM?! I'M DANDEE-FUCKING-RIFFIC!!!!"  
  
Bawling, she ran away from the stunned group and up the  
stairs. She slammed her door behind her and collapsed onto her  
futon to cry.  
  
* * *  
  
Thankfully, everyone seemed content to leave her alone for  
the next several hours. Even Kasumi, who knocked at the door to  
let Ranma know that some dinner had been saved for her, stayed  
well away.  
  
It felt good to be left alone. It gave Ranma time to be  
with her thoughts and try to figure out her feelings. She wondered  
why Akane was so combative. She wondered why Nabiki was so  
provocative.  
  
She pondered Nabiki's reaction to her threat. It had been  
odd, but seeing the girl back down and cringe away from her had  
sent a chill down Ranma's spine. It was thrilling to frighten  
Nabiki, but after a few seconds, Ranma decided that she didn't  
like the thrill it gave her. She would much rather... what? Hug?  
Kiss? Fondle?  
  
She could almost feel Nabiki's legs intertwined with her  
own. She imagined what it would feel like to kiss Nabiki and to  
suck on her neck. For a brief moment, Ranma allowed herself to  
think about nursing at Nabiki's round, firm breasts, licking her  
nipples and tweaking them with her teeth.  
  
Ranma's knees began to clench together, and the redhead  
felt her body begin to writhe as her arousal increased.  
  
"Gotta think about something else," she said out loud. The  
desire didn't really leave her.  
  
Telling herself that she was doing it to take her mind off  
of Nabiki's feminine flesh, Ranma reached over and pulled the  
hentai books out of her satchel.  
  
Ranma had little hope for the first one, 'Lovely Tentacle  
Warrior Force Sexy'. Indeed, the first page displayed a full-page  
splash of a young woman being violently sodomized by an octopus-  
like monster. Ranma threw the book back in her bag in nauseation.  
The second magazine, 'Lunatic Paradise 9', seemed a bit more tame  
and interesting, if only slightly more cerebral.  
  
Ranma read the first story in the book with trembling  
hands. Her legs were clenched tightly together the entire time.  
The story was about Tuxedo Kamen's seduction of each of the Sailor  
Senshi in turn. The art was interesting, but unrealistic. All the  
girls had impossibly huge breasts that swung underneath them like  
udders and Tuxedo Kamen penetrated them with a member the size of  
a baseball bat.  
  
The second story in the book was quite a bit better drawn  
and even more exciting. It was about Sailor Mercury, who asked  
Uranus and Neptune about their lesbian relationship. The two older  
girls took the younger to an exclusive club, where she witnessed  
people stripping and having sex on stage. Eventually, Uranus and  
Neptune took Mercury to a back room where they stripped her  
clothes off. Uranus penetrated her with a long, phallic vibrator,  
while Neptune kneaded Mercury's breasts.  
  
By the time Ranma finished reading, she was shaking so  
badly she could barely hold the manga. She curled up into a fetal  
ball and listened to her teeth chatter while she waited for the  
sensations to lessen.  
  
After a few minutes, she unclenched enough to pull the  
Utena doujinshi out of her bag.  
  
The story was very simple. Utena was bound and gagged in  
her dorm room, while Anthy stood over her with a whip. Utena was  
forced to obey Anthy's commands, or risk being flogged. The dark-  
skinned girl forced Utena to suck on her toes, and then her  
breasts. Then Anthy spread her legs and made Utena lick her.  
  
Ranma stared at the stylized images in an odd mix of  
horror and fascination. Was this real? People could have sex like  
that?  
  
Page after page, Utena and Anthy indulged in increasingly  
perverted acts. The climax of the story found Utena naked and  
spread-eagled in front of the other duelists. They watched while  
Utena stroked her own vulva, screaming out Anthy's name all the  
while.  
  
Ranma closed the book, and returned to her fetal position.  
She lay in silence for several minutes.  
  
The term, if she remembered correctly from Kasumi's  
medical book, was 'masturbation'. Self-stimuation. Autoerotica.  
  
An image of Utena, forced to give her self pleasure lest  
she taste the sting of Anthy's whip, burned its way into Ranma's  
mind. She knew that she would never be able to look at her Shoujo  
Kakumei Utena tankoubans in quite the same light.  
  
Could anyone do that? Was it that simple? You just  
rubbed... there?  
  
Was that all there was to it?  
  
* * *  
  
"The boy has been very moody lately," Genma noted with  
some bitterness. "That scene this afternoon was disgraceful."  
  
"Hmmph!" Akane snorted.  
  
Nabiki was silent, but had a thoughtful expression on her  
face.  
  
"Why, I should go up there right now and beat some sense  
into the boy!" Genma said. "We should leave on a training trip  
right away."  
  
"You'll do no such thing, husband!" Nodoka warned.  
  
"Maybe we should leave Ranma alone, Saotome-kun," Soun  
suggested. "I'm certain he'll straighten out after he's fully  
recovered from his surgery."  
  
"I'll straighten him out," Genma said in a low, dangerous  
tone.  
  
"Oh, you can't do that, Uncle Saotome," Kasumi said.  
  
"Oh no?" Genma asked in a challenging voice. "Why not?  
Who's going to stop me?"  
  
"Tofuu-sensei and Najima-sensei have both left very strict  
orders. I'm afraid I'm not allowed to feed anyone who makes Ranma  
violate her doctors' orders."  
  
Genma paled, and his stomach rumbled angrily. "Maybe I'll  
beat some sense into him later," the man conceded.  
  
Kasumi smiled and put a tray of cookies down on the table.  
Genma took a double-handful and began to stuff his face.  
  
* * *  
  
After...  
  
Ranma lay on her futon. She was exhausted. Spent.  
  
She lay in only her shirt. Her pants had been discarded  
some time earlier. Her hair was slightly mussed, and her hands  
were quite sticky. She held them out at her sides, wondering about  
the best way to get to the restroom so she could wash them.  
  
She felt dazed, and more than a little drained. She felt  
slightly guilty and empty. She felt like a warm, surreal glow had  
surrounded her body.  
  
She felt tired and worried that someone would walk in on  
her before she managed to put her pants back on.  
  
More than anything else, she felt at peace.  
  
Ranma had read a phrase before, but know she knew what it  
meant. Ranma had 'died a little death'.  
  
Curiously, the urge to sleep became overwhelming. Deciding  
not to worry about washing her hands or putting her pants back on,  
Ranma pulled the covers up over her body and turned on her side.  
Breathing in her own dark, musky scent, Ranma drifted off to  
sleep.  
  
* * *  
  
Ranma woke. She was wearing a long, flowing dress, and was  
walking through the rooms of an elegant mansion.  
  
"Ranma, this way," Utena said, gesturing from one of the  
corridors.  
  
Ranma nodded and followed the pink-haired girl. Utena led  
Ranma from the mansion and into a large courtyard. The two stopped  
briefly to look at the monkeys frolicking in their cage near a  
decorative fountain.  
  
Eventually the two came to a tall, foreboding building  
that looked vaguely like the dojo.  
  
"In here?" Ranma asked.  
  
"Yes." Utena answered.  
  
"But why?" Ranma asked.  
  
"This is where you must choose," a new voice said.  
  
Utena bowed her head. Anthy appeared out of the shadows  
behind her. For the first time, Ranma realized that the pink-  
haired girl was wrapped in thorny vines. Just like in the  
doujinshi she read, Anthy was clad in a leather bustier and  
carried a cruel whip.  
  
"Inside, you must choose the one who will punish you,"  
Anthy said, sliding the dojo door open.  
  
Ranma stepped inside.  
  
She jumped in shock when she saw all the people inside,  
but allowed Utena and Anthy to lead her in.  
  
To the far right of the group was Mousse. He was carrying  
the dagger he used to stab Ryouga as well as an assortment of  
chains and cruel-looking hooks. Ryouga was next to him, unarmed if  
you didn't count his rock-crushing fists. Both young men were  
stripped to the waist, their muscular chests bared.  
  
Tofuu-sensei was next, and he was carrying a wide  
selection of moxibustion and acupuncture equipment. Hiroshi and  
Daisuke were on the other side of the dojo, carrying all sorts of  
sticky, sloppy foodstuffs. Soun stood next to them in his antique  
armor.  
  
Directly across from Ranma on the back wall of the dojo,  
Genma stood, carrying only a few short lengths of rope. The  
sunlight glinted off of his glasses.  
  
"Choose," Anthy commanded, laying her slender hand on  
Ranma's shoulder.  
  
Slowly, deliberately, Ranma walked in between all those  
assembled in the dojo. She stepped close to her father, and  
wrapped her arms around him in a warm embrace.  
  
"Is he your choice?" Utena asked from the doorway.  
  
"No," Ranma said. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed the  
large man on the cheek. He nodded, and stepped away.  
  
"You must choose," Anthy instructed her. "If not him, then  
who?"  
  
"Makuna-sensei said that I didn't have to choose a man if  
I didn't want to," Ranma explained. She gestured to the door that  
Genma had been standing in front of and slid it open.  
  
Both Utena and Anthy's eyes widened in surprise.  
  
"You will make your choice in there?" Anthy asked.  
  
Ranma nodded, stepping through the doorway.  
  
"Who will you choose, Ranma?"  
  
"They're all wonderful," Ranma said. "But to start with, I  
choose... you..."  
  
* * *  
  
Nabiki looked up from a magazine and sneezed.  
  
"Geez. I hope I didn't wake anyone up."  
  
-----  
  
~to be continued... 


	10. Dancing

Ranma and his friends belong to Rumiko Takahashi. They're used  
here without permission.  
  
------------------------------  
newRanma 10: Dancing  
  
by Chris Jones  
------------------------------  
  
Daisuke started nervously when he realized Ranma was standing  
right next to him at his shoe locker. He very nearly tripped and  
planted his face into the wooden doors.  
  
"Uh... Hi, Ranma."  
  
Ranma opened her satchel. Daisuke began to sweat. The red-  
head produced a short stack of manga from her bag which she handed  
silently to her friend.  
  
Daisuke smiled sickly. "So... you liked them?" he asked  
hopefully  
  
"This is really gross, Dai," Ranma noted, pointing at the  
cover of 'Lovely Tentacle Warrior Force Sexy'.  
  
Daisuke gulped, certain that he was about to experience an  
entirely new kind of pain.  
  
"Uh... sorry," he said, sweating.  
  
"Daisuke, if you *ever* tell anyone you gave these to me...  
and I do mean *anyone*... the only thing they'll find when I'm done  
with you will be an unpleasant stain on the locker-room floor."  
  
"H-hai..." Daisuke said, genuinely shaking in terror.  
  
"You understand me, right?"  
  
"Of-of course, Ranma."  
  
"Good." Ranma turned to walk away.  
  
"Well, if nothing else, she seems calmer," Hiroshi noted.  
  
"YAAA!! Daisuke jumped again, startled by his friend's  
appearance. "Don't do that!"  
  
"I'm pretty sure she knew I was here," Hiroshi said. "Lovely  
Tentacle? Good lord, man. You gave that to her? Eugghh!"  
  
"I just grabbed the first three I came to," Daisuke said  
guiltily. "Wait a second..."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Ranma! Ranma!" Daisuke shouted after the already-vanished  
martial artist.  
  
"What is it, man?" Hiroshi asked.  
  
"Damn it! That bitch still has my Utena doujinshi!"  
  
* * *  
  
Over the next few days, Ranma found a kind of high-energy  
stability. The passionate dreams didn't stop, but they quit being so  
upsetting. Ranma was frequently able to dream about women. Some of  
the dreams were still disturbing, especially the one about her  
mother, but Ranma did her best to just forget about them.  
  
Also, much to Ranma's embarrassment, she had finally found a  
release. When she couldn't forget the dreams, or if the fantasies  
became too intense, Ranma could... take a long bath. Or... go to bed  
early. Or...  
  
It was hard to even *think* the word, but it was oh-so-easy  
to lose herself to the private indulgence.  
  
Concentration was becoming less and less of a problem. One  
afternoon, rather than re-reading the naughty Utena Doujinshi for the  
fiftieth time, Ranma pulled out some of the books and scrolls Tofuu  
had given her right after her surgery.  
  
Shiatsu was boring but it was sight better than no martial  
arts at all. After just a few minutes of study, Ranma could make  
either of her arms go numb with just a tap.  
  
She got yelled at the next day at school for reading one of  
the advanced manuals while she was supposed to be following along in  
her history textbook.  
  
That afternoon, Ranma approached her father.  
  
"What?" the old man asked incredulously. "I thought you were  
going to pay attention to the doctor and not fight."  
  
"I ain't fightin'. I need someone to practice on," Ranma  
said. "And you're not busy, so..."  
  
"Let me get this straight. You want me to just stand still  
while you try out untested shiatsu techniques on me?"  
  
"Uhh... Yeah!" Ranma said.  
  
"Nothing doing." Genma said, grimacing. "Come talk to me  
again when you're ready to act like a man and start sparring."  
  
"Genma!" Nodoka cautioned from across the room. "It's  
perfectly manly for Ranma to want to obey his doctor's orders."  
  
Ranma blinked in surprise at the angry exchange. What was  
most telling were the dark glares that passed between her mother and  
father.  
  
"Whatever," Genma mumbled so quietly that Nodoka would not be  
able to hear him.  
  
Ranma frowned, unsure of what had just happened. She knew  
that her mother and father had been fighting more and more often  
since her surgery, but hadn't really paid it any heed. The fights  
were usually never as vitriolic as the verbal exchanges between her  
and Akane, but they seemed to have more lasting impression.  
  
Genma was starting to sleep separately from his wife more and  
more often. More often that not, he tried to come into the guest room  
and sleep with Ranma after their fights. Since Ranma had started  
to... value her privacy more highly... she refused to let him in.  
Most nights he was stuck sleeping on the floor of the dojo.  
  
The last time Ranma had seen the old man glare like that was  
at Happosai.  
  
What was going on between the two?  
  
Ranma was jostled out of her reverie by the ringing of the  
telephone next to her elbow.  
  
"I'll get it!" she called out since she was within arm's  
reach. "Tendou des, Moshi moshi?"  
  
"Airen?" Shampoo's whispered voice came out of the receiver.  
  
At first, Ranma couldn't understand Shampoo's whispers  
through the phone receiver. The girl sounded upset, but other than  
that, Ranma couldn't make out what she was saying.  
  
"Whoa, Shampoo! What's going on? Are you okay?"  
  
"Airen, please come save Shampoo," the Chinese girl pleaded  
in a quiet voice. "Evil woman have Shampoo and--"  
  
"Daughter!" another voice sounded out from somewhere in the  
same room as the Chinese girl. "Your Japanese is atrocious! Where on  
earth did you pick it up?"  
  
"Television," Shampoo admitted in a timid voice.  
  
Ranma grimaced, and stared at the phone in surprise. There  
were brief sounds of a scuffle on the other end of the line. After a  
few seconds, Shampoo's voice came back over the receiver.  
  
"Ranma-san," she said, a little more formally, with a slight  
tremble in her voice. "If you would be so kind, please accept  
Shamp--" A 'whack' sounded, and Shampoo muffled a cry. "-- -please  
accept my invitation to a formal party to be held at the Embassy this  
evening."  
  
"Uh, okay," Ranma said.  
  
"It will be... attended by other... members of the Embassy...  
youth and their guests," Shampoo said haltingly, carefully  
controlling her speech.  
  
"Yeah, Shampoo. I'll... uhh... think about it," Ranma said.  
  
"Ranma," Shampoo hissed in a clear, quiet voice. "If you no  
come save from evil woman, Shampoo ghost haunt you forever!"  
  
"What was that about?" Akane asked, walking up to Ranma from  
the hallway.  
  
Ranma shook her head in confusion. "I'm not really sure. It  
was from Shampoo, but I think she was in trouble with her mom."  
  
"Oh, come on, Saotome," Nabiki said, smirking. "Surely she  
tried to make a date with you or something."  
  
Ranma nodded, unwilling to be brought up short by Nabiki.  
"Yeah--" she paused, hearing the growl begin to rise from Akane's  
throat, "--but I don't have any reason to go. Some embassy party or  
something. Sounds like a real drag."  
  
"Embassy party? No, we're going." Nabiki said. "There's no  
*way* I'm missing out on that kind of opportunity."  
  
"Opportunity?" Ranma demanded incredulously. "Who said you  
were invited, anyway?"  
  
"You'll get me in, won't you, Ranma?" Nabiki begged cutely.  
  
"Well if you're going, I'm going," Akane said. "Somebody's  
got to keep an eye on you to make sure you aren't a pervert around  
Shampoo."  
  
"I don't need watching, but-- Hey! I said I didn't want to go  
to this thing!"  
  
"But, Ranma-chan!" Nabiki said in a cloyingly cute voice.  
"I'll be ever so miserable if I can't go and schmooze. Do you have  
any idea the kind of contacts I can make at an international to-do  
like this?"  
  
"Listen..."  
  
"Oh, it'll be fun, Ranma," Akane assured her fiancee. "Even  
if Shampoo is there."  
  
She stared in disbelief at the two girls. "I can't belive  
this. Okay, fine! How about Kasumi? You wanna come, Kasumi?" she  
shouted.  
  
"Hai, hai! I'll need to find a dress of course," Kasumi  
answered, poking her head into the main room from the kitchen.  
  
Ranma rolled her eyes. "I might as well invite the entire  
neighborhood. Pops? Tendou? You wanna come?"  
  
"Uhh... The Chinese Embassy, you say?" Genma asked.  
  
Ranma glanced over at her father and Soun, who had both  
noticeably paled.  
  
"Perhaps it wouldn't be such a good idea for us to tag along  
this time, Ranma," Soun noted.  
  
Her irritation passing, Ranma stared at the two men  
curiously. "What do you mean? Is there some reason you're afraid to  
go?" she needled, a smile breaking out on her face.  
  
"Well," Genma said, stammering slightly. "There was the  
matter of the old ambassador's daughter, and several...  
undergarments... that the master required for--"  
  
"NO WAY!" Ranma shouted, trying to keep from laughing. "You  
guys broke into the Chinese embassy to steal panties for the old  
creep?!"  
  
"Ranma, please," Soun said. "It's a very painful memory.  
Let's just say that we have our reasons for not wanting to--"  
  
"Be shot at again?" Genma cut him off.  
  
"Be shot at again." Soun finished. His eyes widened, and he  
hastily amended himself. "NO! Attending any formal functions at the  
embassy would put undue stress on otherwise normal relations between  
the nation of Japan and the Chinese government," Soun corrected  
himself seriously.  
  
"What my father means," Nabiki explained, "is that he's just  
afraid that the Japanese government will hand the two of them over in  
lieu of Happosai."  
  
"Maybe you should go, old man," Ranma suggested. "China has a  
panda breeding program you might be interested in."  
  
"Ranma, that's no way to talk to your father," Nodoka said,  
shifting her bundle.  
  
"Gomen..." For some reason, it was nice to see her mother  
jump to Genma's defense.  
  
"But a formal party does sound quite nice," the woman added.  
"I did just buy a new dress, after all..."  
  
Ranma blinked, and suddenly realized what was expected of  
her. "Mom, I've been invited to a formal party at the embassy. You  
wanna come?"  
  
Nabiki started giggling. Akane joined in despite herself.  
  
"Why, certainly dear. We'll have to find dress for you to  
wear and--"  
  
"Whoa! Wait a second... I ain't wearin' no dress! We can call  
this whole thing off right now if-- YIPE!"  
  
"Ranma-chan," Nabiki cooed chidingly, sliding in behind the  
girl. "Of course you have to wear a formal dress. This is a party  
after all. If you wear this," she said, sliding her arm down Ranma's  
front, "people will wonder who let the riff-raff in."  
  
"Uh... yeah," Ranma said, suddenly very deeply aware of  
Nabiki's breasts as they were pressed into her back and of the girl's  
breath in her ear. She clenched her teeth, determined not to be  
cowed. "What do you think I ought to wear, Akane?"  
  
Akane looked at the two, her face blank.  
  
Was she mad? She looked like she was going to blow up at any  
second. Ranma smiled at her, doing her best to ignore Nabiki.  
  
"I have a few formal dresses," Akane said, still not changing  
her expression.  
  
"Well, can I borrow one?" Ranma asked. "We're not really the  
same size, but..."  
  
Ranma could feel Nabiki's face next to hers as the girl  
leaned over her shoulder. She could feel Nabiki's cheeks swell  
slightly as she grinned at Akane.  
  
"Ranma could always borrow one of mine," Nabiki suggested.  
"She has before."  
  
Ranma suddenly realized that Nabiki's teasing was not  
directed at her this time. She could see the tightening of skin  
around Akane's mouth, and the way her eyes were darting around. She  
was rapidly building to a boil. Ranma had to do something to disarm  
the time bomb before it was too late.  
  
"Akane's fit better," Ranma said, turning around and stepping  
out of Nabiki's grip. She was rewarded by the shifting expression on  
Akane's face. "You're just a little more slender than I am, Nabiki."  
  
"Oh, now you're saying I'm fat!" Akane accused, the corners  
of her mouth turning up and losing their tightness.  
  
"Not really," Ranma disagreed, stepping over and putting her  
hands on Akane's hips. Akane's face paled at the contact, but Ranma  
tightened her grip slightly, her fingers pushing against the bony  
part of Akane's hips.  
  
As Nabiki started to scowl, Ranma desperately started to  
wonder how to get through the situation without saying that Akane had  
big hips.  
  
"See," she said, letting her hands slide up over Akane's  
waist, and around her ribs. Ranma marveled at the way every muscle in  
her fiancee's body seemed to be tense as a stretched wire. "You're  
just built more solidly than me or Nabiki," the redhead explained.  
"And I'm wider around the hips than Nabiki is. Her dresses are too  
tight for me, but yours are pretty comfortable."  
  
"Even if they're too loose in the bust?" Nabiki asked, her  
eyes flashing dangerously, but a smile reappearing on her face.  
  
"Well, we can't all be perfect," Ranma said, bending one knee  
slightly, and leaning forward. She thrust her chest out in a sensual  
pose.  
  
"Ranma no baka," Akane said, poking the girl's stomach. "Come  
on, and we'll pick something out."  
  
Having navigated the rocky shoals, Ranma grinned widely and  
allowed herself to be dragged away from Nabiki.  
  
Nodoka who had watched the entire exchange, scowled. "That  
wasn't very nice, Ranma-chan," she scolded, calling after them.  
  
Akane led Ranma into her room and threw open her closet door.  
She pulled out several nice dresses. "This is the one I'm probably  
going to wear," she indicated, holding up a pretty, green off-the-  
shoulder number.  
  
"Well, there's nothing for it but to try them on and see  
which one looks best," Ranma said, pulling at the hem of her shirt.  
  
Akane nodded in agreement.  
  
Ranma pulled her shirt off over her head, noting the faint  
blush that rose on Akane's face with a little satisfaction.  
  
"What? You've seen girls before," Ranma growled.  
  
"Drop it, okay?" Akane snapped.  
  
Smirking, Ranma untied the cord and allowed her loose pants  
to drop to the floor.  
  
Akane stared at her in shock.  
  
"What?"  
  
"You're... you're wearing..."  
  
Ranma glanced down at the thin cotton panties that covered  
her midsection. "Yeah." Her face turned red, but she didn't make any  
move to cover herself. "You try wearing boxer-shorts for a month  
straight. These are just a lot more comfortable."  
  
* * *  
  
The Chinese embassy was in Minato ward, so the trip from  
Nerima required a train ride. The building itself was near several  
other embassies. Ranma, her mother, Akane, Nabiki, and Kasumi walked  
by a large park on their way from the subway station, and up to the  
building. The embassy was quite modern-looking, but had exquisite  
gardening and beautiful sculptures surrounding it.  
  
Nodoka and Kasumi were both wearing conservative, but pretty  
dresses. Nabiki had settled on a short, straight cocktail dress. It  
wasn't low cut, but it had a sheer top that revealed quite a bit of  
cleavage. Akane was wearing the green dress she had picked out  
previously and Ranma had decided on a low-cut mini-dress with  
spaghetti straps. All five women got appreciative stares as the  
walked toward the gates.  
  
The grounds were unobtrusively populated with Chinese men who  
wore dark suits and sunglasses and occasionally spoke into their  
wrists. While probably more deadly, these were not nearly as  
obtrusive as the uniformed Chinese army soldiers who were visibly  
armed and guarding certain checkpoints around the embassy.  
  
Ranma and the others walked up nervously to the front gates,  
where they were halted by a Chinese guard who spoke fluent Japanese.  
  
"We're here for the party," Ranma said.  
  
The guard nodded, and checked their ID's which they had all  
brought with them at Nabiki's suggestion. Ranma didn't have a formal  
invitation but the name 'Ranma Saotome and Guests' was on the list  
the guard was carrying. He noted their ID's on the clipboard next to  
Ranma's name and gestured them inside the gate.  
  
There, they were met by another armed guard who led them  
along the immaculately landscaped cobblestone path and the inside the  
building.  
  
Once inside, the group was led through a series of thin,  
black plastic columns that had been placed just inside the marble  
columns along their path. Metal detectors, Ranma realized, a little  
unnerved by the sheer amount of security in place. The group was then  
ushered inside a small coatroom where two women in black dress-suits  
were waiting for them.  
  
One of the women explained that they had to be pat-searched  
for weapons or contraband illegal in China. Ranma was a little upset  
about this, but Nodoka gracefully allowed herself to be frisked.  
Frowning at the minor invasion, Akane followed suit. Ranma and Nabiki  
were next.  
  
Ranma was acutely aware of how embarrassing and violating  
being frisked felt, despite how polite the two secret service agents  
were.  
  
"Please remember that you are on Chinese soil," one of the  
agents instructed them. "You must observe and obey the laws of the  
People's Republic until you exit the embassy."  
  
"That means no fights, Ranma-kun," Nabiki said, smirking at  
the rest of the group. "And no malleting Chinese citizens, Akane.  
Even Shampoo."  
  
"I wouldn't mallet... well... yes I would," Akane admitted.  
  
"Please enter and exit the embassy only through this room,"  
the dark-suited woman told them. "There will be Japanese-speaking  
guards posted at all other entrances and exits. Please enjoy  
yourself."  
  
"Finally," Nabiki said as they emerged into the ballroom on  
the other side of the coatroom. "Let's mingle, everybody! Hey, it's  
Kunou-chan!"  
  
"Nabiki Tendou?" the young man asked curiously, turning  
around in surprise. He was wearing a light-colored suit and was  
holding a glass of soda. "Pigtailed girl!" he said in excitement as  
he noticed Ranma's presence.  
  
"Oh no..." Ranma groaned. Akane looked at Ranma and Kunou  
curiously.  
  
"Heya, Kunou-chan," Nabiki greeted her classmate. "I didn't  
think you were the foreign affairs type."  
  
"Verily, I am not. Although one so munificent as Blue Thunder  
should do well at all social occasions, I find myself at a loss  
during these functions."  
  
"Huh?" Ranma asked, her head spinning. She turned to Nabiki  
for an explanation, but the girl had already dragged both her sisters  
away and was chatting with them privately near the buffet table.  
  
"I prefer smaller, more intimate gatherings--", Ranma paled  
at the word 'intimate', "--such as our lunch outings," the kendoist  
explained. "Still, I keep finding invitations in my mailbox. Noblesse  
oblige," he said, rolling his eyes.  
  
"So you don't dig the scene, huh?" Ranma summarized. "I can  
understand that."  
  
"Verily, I would rather be alone with you... or Akane," Kunou  
admitted, blushing somewhat. "Failing that, I would rather be  
perfecting my technique in order to teach that cur, Saotome, what  
for. And who are you, Madame?" he asked suavely, turning to Nodoka.  
"I belive we've met, but I don't think we've been introduced."  
  
"I'm that cur's mother," she stated coldly.  
  
Kunou paled and had the decency to sweatdrop at his faux pas.  
  
"You claim to hate my son, yet you seem to fawn over Ranma,"  
Nodoka wondered in bewilderment. "I don't understand at all."  
  
"The beauteous pigtailed girl is... your daughter?" Kunou  
said, his eyebrows knitting in heavy thought.  
  
"Don't strain the noggin too hard, Kunou. We don't need a  
fire in here."  
  
"Well... yes. I suppose so," Nodoka conceed.  
  
"Then... evil sorcerer Ranma Saotome and this girl, also  
known as Ranma Saotome, are..."  
  
"Yes," Nodoka answered, nodding her head slightly.  
  
"Madame," Kunou said, one eyebrow raised in confusion. "May I  
inquire as to why you gave both your children the same name?"  
  
Nodoka rolled her eyes in amazement.  
  
"Don't even bother, Mom," Ranma said. "I've explained it  
dozens of times, and he just doesn't get it."  
  
"That inhuman fiend!" Kunou hissed in rage. "To force himself  
upon his own sister..."  
  
Nodoka's eyes widened in amazement. "Is he like that all the  
time?"  
  
"Most of the time," Ranma said. "C'mon! I'm hungry!"  
  
Nodoka realized the she was too.  
  
* * *  
  
Across the room, a pair of green eyes stared in wonder at the  
sight of the redhead leading her mother around. The two descended  
upon one of the buffet tables like a plague of locusts, quickly  
devouring all the choice tidbits.  
  
Taiyoko giggled and put her hand to her mouth as she watched  
the scene unfold.  
  
She could only guess that the demure woman was Ranma's mother  
from the familial resemblance, but the similarity between the two was  
enough. Their mannerisms were quite similar. While Nodoka didn't  
appear to have the raw food-consuming capacity her daughter did, the  
woman still managed to quietly and politely pack away the nicest of  
the hors d'ouerves. Ranma, on the other hand, went so far as to get  
into a fight with the Brazilian consul over a slice of cheese.  
  
"Saiteiki, get back to work," one of the caterers urged.  
"Don't let the boss see you goofing off!"  
  
"H-hai," Taiyoko said, not wanting to drag her eyes away from  
Ranma. God, she was beautiful...  
  
* * *  
  
"Ranma," Shampoo cried out, having finally found the  
pigtailed girl.  
  
"Hey Samfoo! Waff uf?" Ranma greeted the purple-haired girl.  
She swallowed with a loud gulping sound, and pounded her chest a few  
times, surprised by the sight of the Amazon's curves ensconce in a  
long, Chinese dress.  
  
"Ranma eat like cow," Shampoo noted. "Still, Ranma eat all he  
want if save Shampoo from wicked, evil mother."  
  
"SHAMPOO!" A high-pitched voice called out.  
  
"Aiyah." Shampoo paled as she and Ranma were approached by a  
tall, beautiful woman with long, red hair. She had the statuesque  
beauty Ranma had learned to expect from Amazons and the easy grace of  
someone who had spent her entire life practicing martial arts. Ranma  
did her best to keep her eyes away from the low bust-line and high-  
hemline of the woman's cocktail dress.  
  
"What have I told you about your language, young lady?"  
  
Shampoo sighed and rolled her eyes.  
  
"Ranma, please save Sh... save me from this evil woman,"  
Shampoo corrected herself, darting behind Ranma.  
  
"I really don't need to get in a fight with another Amazon,  
Shampoo," Ranma said. "You're still an Amazon, right?"  
  
"Theoretically," the ambassador said, holding her hand out to  
Ranma, palm down. "It's been years since I've been back to the  
village."  
  
Ranma had seen the gesture before. The red-headed woman in  
front of her was offering her hand to be kissed. Ranma wondered if it  
was a test of some kind.  
  
Returning the woman's stare, she grabbed the outstretched  
hand and shook it once.  
  
The ambassador's eyes flashed dangerously, but she grinned  
broadly after just a few seconds. "I see why my grandmother finds you  
so amusing."  
  
Ranma had the feeling that she had just picked up a snake by  
the tail. She realized that the last time she had had any interaction  
at all with this woman was in the context of being knocked out at the  
end of the fight between Mousse and Ryouga. Despite not looking it,  
the woman in front of her was a skilled martial artist-- probably  
more skilled than Shampoo.  
  
"Oh?" she said in a questioning tone. "I didn't think I was  
funny so much as I am a pain in the ass for her."  
  
"To each their own, Saotome-san."  
  
Behind Ranma, her hands on the girl's shoulders, Shampoo  
began to grow impatient. "Ranma stop chat with evil woman and--"  
  
Ranma saw the momentary tension in the older woman's shoulder  
and the sudden hardness in her eyes. She caught the ambassador's hand  
just before it could snake past Ranma's ear to slap Shampoo.  
  
"Hey, she's trying, okay?" Ranma admonished. "I'd probably  
speak crappy too if I learned off a television."  
  
"You speak 'crappy' anyway," The ambassador said. Then she  
broke out laughing.  
  
Ranma relaxed slightly, letting the woman's hand go. She felt  
a certain tension leave her that she didn't realize she'd been  
holding. "I'll fight you if you want, but not here," she said. "And  
not now. And not by Amazon rules, either. I'll marry who I want to,  
thanks."  
  
"Oh, you *are* a treasure!" The ambassador exclaimed, her  
smile twinkling. "I can see why they want you for the tribe so  
badly!"  
  
"Well, I go where I want to," Ranma said.  
  
"Well, 'Son-in-law'," the woman said mockingly. "I, for one,  
don't hold with most of the old traditions. If my willful daughter  
here manages to trip you up, then I would welcome having you in the  
family. For the meantime, I think you can count on having me on your  
side of the argument."  
  
"Aiyah..." Shampoo exclaimed in a mournful tone.  
  
"Call me Soap," the ambassador offered.  
  
"Sure," Ranma said. "Ain't you gonna get in trouble for  
disobeying Amazon law or something?"  
  
"If any of the old biddies who run the village could defeat  
me, I might," Ambassador Soap said. "That's not the case. I'm also  
far too valuable to them as a voice in the Chinese government for my  
grandmother to openly oppose my... rebellious... ideology."  
  
"This not what Shampoo expected."  
  
"Behave, daughter," Soap warned in a good-natured tone. "Or  
we'll have more... poise lessons... when your boyfriend isn't here to  
defend you."  
  
Shampoo gulped, and quickly shut up.  
  
"So Shampoo's in trouble?" Ranma asked seriously.  
  
Ambassador Soap rolled her eyes. "Shampoo *is* trouble."  
  
Ranma guffawed, earning her a poke in the back from the  
purple-haired amazon behind her.  
  
"You must understand that my daughter stayed in the village  
when I went to Beijing of her own free will," Soap explained. "Being  
a strong warrior and training with other strong warriors was more  
important to her than staying with her mother. Most of our people  
think that that's an admirable trait, so I allowed her to stay. Then,  
when I managed to have myself appointed ambassador and came to Tokyo,  
I offered to let my daughter come with me. Again she refused. Of  
course, I find out several months later that she came anyway without  
telling me. You can imagine how a poor mother feels."  
  
"Tso Pu not proper warrior *or* mother," Shampoo grumbled  
quietly into Ranma's ear.  
  
Ranma didn't stop the ambassador from reaching out and  
painfully tweaking Shampoo's earlobe.  
  
"OWWWW!"  
  
"At any rate, Shampoo still has diplomatic status as a member  
of my family so any trouble she gets into while in Japan is  
ultimately my responsibility," Soap explained. "All this I could have  
forgiven if she hadn't let that poor, blind idiot tag along behind  
her and start causing problems. Now I'm facing an inquiry from two  
governments and trying to keep the little duel he was involved in  
from inflating into an international incident."  
  
Ranma blinked in surprise. "How is Mousse, anyway?"  
  
The ambassador's expression became troubled. "He is... in a  
great deal of trouble right now."  
  
"How much trouble?" Ranma asked in dread.  
  
"A lot," Soap admitted in a disturbed tone. She gestured for  
Ranma to follow her. "When he followed my daughter to Tokyo, Mousse  
entered the country using the pretext of working for a travelling  
circus act."  
  
Ranma nodded, remembering the circus Mousse had been  
performing at when he first tried to kidnap Akane.  
  
"Well, as part of a performing troupe," Soap continued, "he  
had a 'cultural visa'. After just a few weeks, however, he left the  
circus to work at my grandmother's restaurant with Shampoo."  
  
"His visa didn't allow for that?" Ranma asked.  
  
Soap shook her head. "It's a fairly trivial point. I could  
probably smooth over the fact that he was working at a regular job  
instead of performing with both our governments. The crime I will  
probably not be able to defend was the fact that he assaulted a  
Japanese citizen. Because he did so while in violation of his visa...  
complicates matters."  
  
Ranma's head spun, the international intricacies threatening  
to overwhelm her.  
  
Soap led Ranma from the room where the party was taking place  
and into a long, paneled corridor. More of the dark-suited agents  
were standing guard at regular intervals along it. They didn't  
acknowledge Ranma or the ambassador's presence, or Shampoo's as she  
followed behind.  
  
"At best, Mousse is facing deportation," Soap said. "At  
worst..." she grimaced, not completing her sentence.  
  
"Does it matter at all that it was a duel?" Ranma asked. She  
was still angry with Mousse at the moment, but didn't like to see  
anyone suffer unfairly.  
  
Soap shook her head. "The People's government is not  
interested in the details. All they know or care about is that a  
Chinese citizen was remanded to my custody after he sent a Japanese  
boy to trauma surgery."  
  
They proceeded down a staircase and past two uniformed  
Chinese soldiers. The tasteful wood paneling gave way to  
institutional-looking cinder block. Ranma noted that many of the  
doors they were passing had computerized locks. Finally, Ranma and  
Shampoo were taken into a long, narrow room that was lined on either  
side with barred jail cells.  
  
Mousse was in the cell furthest from the door.  
  
He was naked to the waist and was sporting a large bandage  
wrapped around his torso. There was also a splint taped to his  
bruised face supporting his broken nose. His glasses lay on the floor  
of the cell while Mousse sat on a thin cot, his back to the cold  
cinder block wall.  
  
His eyes were closed.  
  
"Shampoo," he noted quietly. "And Saotome."  
  
Ranma took a deep breath, unsure of what to say. It was the  
first time she had seen him since he stabbed Ryouga.  
  
Finally, Ranma raised her voice. "Why?" she asked.  
  
"Do I have to explain that to you?" Mousse said.  
  
"Yeah, I think you better," Ranma replied.  
  
There were several seconds of silence between the two. Both  
Shampoo and her mother were silent.  
  
Finally, Mousse opened his mouth to speak.  
  
"How is it," he asked in a tired, dead tone, "that someone  
like myself can want and hope and work for something-- or someone--  
all his life, even when it is denied him over and over again when  
someone like you gets it handed to him on a silver platter?"  
  
Ranma gulped. "You think I ever asked for Shampoo to start  
following me around?"  
  
"You sure didn't discourage her," Mousse said blackly. "But  
that's all over now, isn't it. You've won, even if you had to trick  
Hibiki into doing it for you."  
  
Ranma clenched her fists, staring darkly at the Chinese man.  
"You tried to kill me!" she shouted.  
  
"And you should have died," Mousse replied calmly. "Or you  
should have killed me. Either way, I'd be out of my misery. This must  
be very amusing for you."  
  
"It's not amusing," Ranma said. "It's pathetic."  
  
There was an odd sound from Mousse. Ranma wasn't sure, but it  
sounded like a chuckle.  
  
"Mousse stupid!" Shampoo said fretfully. "She tell you over  
and over again to leave alone, but you no ever pay attention."  
  
"How could I?" Mousse said. "You might as well ask a hungry  
man not to eat or a thirsty man not to drink."  
  
"You should have given up," Ranma said. "You were beaten. You  
shouldn't have stabbed Ryouga!"  
  
"Would you have given up?" Mousse asked. "Well?"  
  
Ranma was silent.  
  
"If you were about to lose the only thing that ever mattered  
to you, would you have given up, Saotome? Answer me, if you're *man*  
enough," he said sarcastically.  
  
"No," Ranma admitted.  
  
"Then don't tell me how I should have acted," Mousse said.  
Then, "It must have been some ego trip for you, eh, Saotome? To so  
effortlessly deny me the only thing I lived for. Tell me, did you  
ever love Shampoo? Was it ever because you wanted her?"  
  
"Of course Ranma love Shampoo!" the purple-haired girl  
insisted.  
  
"I never tried to keep her away from you!" Ranma protested.  
  
"But did you love her?" Mousse asked. "Do you love her like I  
do? Even if I go to prison for the rest of my life, I think it would  
be better to have been beaten because you didn't want me to have her,  
rather than because it was fun for you."  
  
"You listen here, you self-pitying son-of-a-bitch," Ranma  
hissed, her face against the bars. "The only people who kept you away  
from Shampoo was you and Shampoo! You think I took pleasure in  
watching you and Ryouga beat each other senseless? You think I wanted  
either of you to get hurt? You think I asked for this goddamned brain  
injury so that I can't fight for three months?" She reached through  
the bars, unable to reach Mousse. "Do you think for one minute that I  
ever wanted to keep you apart from Shampoo?!"  
  
"Do you love her?" Mousse asked again.  
  
"It doesn't matter if I do or not!" Ranma shouted angrily.  
"If you loved her-- *really* loved her, and not just obsessed with  
her-- you'd know that they way you're acting is wrong. You whine and  
moan and feel sorry for yourself and you blame your problems on me.  
Well, I ain't gonna take it any more! Your problem is *you*!"  
  
"Okay, then," Mousse said, rising to his feet and coming  
within Ranma's reach. "Let's say that I get out of here without being  
skinned alive by the Chinese government. Can you seriously say that  
you don't love Shampoo and won't dog every step I take when I try to  
win her?"  
  
"I've never gotten in your way!" Ranma said. "I told you  
before! She chases me, not the other way around! If she hates you,  
there ain't nothin' I can do about it."  
  
"But do you love her? You've never given her the chance to  
come to me where she belongs!" Mousse protested.  
  
"Shampoo make Ranma love!" the Chinese girl shouted.  
  
"Shut up, Shampoo!" Ranma shouted.  
  
"Say it!" Mousse shouted. "Say it, unless you're a coward."  
  
Ranma's eyes narrowed in fury.  
  
"Fine," Ranma said. "I'm not interested in Shampoo. She's all  
yours. Happy?"  
  
"No say that, Ranma!" Shampoo shouted, her voice on the edge  
of tears.  
  
"Say it, Saotome. Tell me you don't love her. Are you a liar,  
on top of being a coward?"  
  
"Shut up!" Ranma shouted. "I ain't no coward and I ain't a  
liar!"  
  
"Then say it!" Mousse said.  
  
"I don't love Shampoo! I never have. I probably never  
will..." Ranma trailed off.  
  
"NO!" Shampoo shouted from behind her.  
  
"I'm sorry Shampoo," Ranma said. "You knew I felt that way."  
  
"No! Ranma lie! Say love Shampoo!"  
  
"Stop it, Shampoo," the redhead said, pushing Shampoo away as  
she tried to force Ranma into an embrace.  
  
"Ranma belong Shampoo! Shampoo belong Ranma!"  
  
"Stop it, Shampoo! How do I gotta say it so you understand? I  
AIN'T INTERESTED!"  
  
"It Akane, right?" Shampoo said. "If Shampoo kill Akane  
then--"  
  
*SLAP*  
  
Shampoo backed away, clutching at her cheek. It was red and  
puffy where it had been slapped. Tears were coursing down both her  
cheeks.  
  
Ranma glanced at the ambassador, who was standing impassively  
near the door of the detention room. She glanced down at her own red  
hand, and realized that she was the one who had just slapped Shampoo.  
She buried her face in her hands, and took several deep breaths.  
  
"Listen... the both of you. You're both so caught up in what  
you want that you never think about what anyone else wants.  
Shampoo... I'm sorry, but I don't love you. I don't think I'm goin'  
to. Mousse... you're right. I ain't been real good about staying out  
of your way, but that's still no excuse for the way you acted."  
  
Her crying face hidden in her hands, Shampoo ran past her  
mother and out of the cell room.  
  
"I'm not the source of your problems. Maybe this will teach  
you that," Ranma said, gesturing at the bars. "If not... well... I'll  
keep beating your ass until you learn."  
  
She turned and left the detention area, Mousse staring  
blindly after her.  
  
"How do you feel?" Soap asked, leading Ranma back to the  
party.  
  
"Like hell," Ranma admitted.  
  
"Do try to enjoy the party, Ranma," the ambassador said. "My  
daughter is a strong girl. Eventually, she'll learn."  
  
"Sure, tell me one I *haven't* heard before."  
  
It was only a few minutes later that Ranma and Soap were back  
at the party. Citing a need to talk to some of the other dignitaries,  
Soap abandoned the younger red-head to her own devices.  
  
Sighing, Ranma spent several minutes looking around the  
crowded room for any of the Tendou girls or her mother. None of them  
were in evidence. Ranma did come across Kunou again, but didn't feel  
like dealing with the kendoist so soon after the exchange with Mousse  
and Shampoo.  
  
Feeling a little thirsty after shouting, Ranma made her way  
over to one of the buffet tables where a row of long stemmed glasses  
was sitting next to a display of fine cheeses. She threw one glass  
back, noting something slightly odd about the taste of the punch  
inside. Still thirsty, she quickly gulped down two more. She was  
about to empty a fourth when she felt a hand on her shoulder.  
  
"Whoa! Slow down, partner," Nabiki said. "How many of those  
have you had?"  
  
"Three. Why?"  
  
Glancing around to see if anyone was looking, Nabiki took the  
glass out of Ranma's hand and sipped cautiously.  
  
"If my figures are correct," Nabiki said, gesturing to the  
table. "You just gulped down about ten thousand yen worth of Dom  
Perignon in under thirty seconds"  
  
The monetary figure fell far short of upsetting Ranma as much  
as the sudden tingling sensation at the base of her skull. She stared  
in horror at the French-labled bottles on the other side of the  
champagne glasses.  
  
"Very nice," Nabiki said, sipping at the glass she had taken  
from Ranma. "If you're going to drink, you really have to learn to  
savor the flavor."  
  
"But I didn't know it was champagne!" Ranma hissed. "I don't  
want to get drunk!"  
  
"You really didn't know?" Nabiki asked, incredulously.  
  
"Oh, God... What am I gonna do, Nabiki?"  
  
"You're serious, aren't you?" Nabiki said, tossing her hair.  
"Haven't you ever been drunk before?"  
  
"There was once," Ranma admitted in a harried whispered.  
"Kunou poured some sake down my throat at a school play. Mostly it  
just made me sick."  
  
"I remember. Akane told me about that. Well, three glasses of  
champagne aren't going to make you sick... I don't think. You are  
going to be pretty high in a few minutes if you've never really had  
any before."  
  
"Oh god oh god oh god..."  
  
"Don't worry about it," Nabiki said. "Half the people here  
are more than three sheets to the wind," she said, gesturing around  
at both the elegantly dressed young people as well as the older  
dignitaries. "And most have been drinking stuff stronger than  
champagne. There is a free bar, you know."  
  
"Still..." Ranma said, beginning to feel an odd, bubbly  
sensation.  
  
"If you're worried about it, stick around me. I'll help you  
out," Nabiki said, "for a small fee, of course."  
  
"Okay," Ranma said, ignoring Nabiki's quip. "So... how do I  
handle this?"  
  
"Well, if you're anything like me when you get tipsy,  
everything is going to be really funny. Try to be yourself, watch  
what you say, and everything should be okay. I'll keep an eye on  
you."  
  
"Thanks, Nabiki," Ranma said, nervously clasping Nabiki's  
arm.  
  
"Don't worry about it," Nabiki said in an odd tone of voice.  
"Now come on, there are still some people I want to meet."  
  
As the alcohol started to percolate through Ranma's brain,  
she very rapidly forgot all about the argument with Mousse and  
Shampoo and started thinking about how very nice it felt to lean  
against Nabiki.  
  
The older girl led Ranma around, ostensibly to 'introduce'  
the redhead to people Nabiki wanted to talk to and possibly extract  
favors from. In very short order, Ranma met five Diet members, two  
more ambassadors, and no fewer than three princes.  
  
One of the princes, a young man with Indian features, did his  
best to chat up Ranma.  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry. I can't dance with you. I'm sticking with  
Nabiki," Ranma said, turning him down.  
  
The young man was not used to being blown off and stormed  
away in a huff, muttering under his breath.  
  
"You should have danced with him," Nabiki noted in amusement.  
  
"And let him paw at me? Yuck!" Ranma giggled.  
  
"So who do you want pawing you?" Nabiki asked in a curious  
tone.  
  
Ranma felt wonderfully warm, and her problems seemed to have  
drifted away. "You're teasing me again," she said. "You really like  
teasing me, don't you?"  
  
"I'll admit that I do get a kick out of your reactions. Like  
I said before, you have a really cute blush."  
  
"I'll show you blush," Ranma said, whirling around, and  
grabbing Nabiki's other arm. "Dance with me!"  
  
"Ranma!" Nabiki squeaked in surprise. "What are you doing?"  
  
"Not letting you tease me," Ranma said. "I'll tease you  
instead!" She pulled Nabiki close to her, and began to spin the girl  
towards the center of the floor where some of the younger attendees  
were dancing to the light music.  
  
"Do you even know how to dance?" Nabiki asked in a quavering  
voice.  
  
She was answered by being spun elegantly around the dance  
floor by her shorter partner. Ranma's movements were fluid and  
graceful, lacking the hard edge that usually marked them. In fact,  
Nabiki was the one hard pressed to keep up with Ranma. Despite the  
red-head's skillful lead, Nabiki often felt she was lagging behind.  
  
More than once, Nabiki's feet left the ground.  
  
Both girls were giggling by the time Ranma pulled Nabiki off  
the dance floor.  
  
"Two girls dancing together!" Ranma exclaimed. "Hee!"  
  
"Everyone will think it was a joke," Nabiki said, trying to  
get her breath under control. "I hope. When did you learn to dance?"  
  
"Just now." Ranma grinned broadly at the girl. "So are you  
done teasing me yet?" she asked, still holding both Nabiki's wrists.  
She stared up at the taller girl mischievously.  
  
"And what if I'm not?" Nabiki said, her breath coming more  
and more rapidly. She backed away, leaning against the wall of the  
room.  
  
Ranma slid one arm around Nabiki's waist and let her other  
hand run up Nabiki's arm to cup her cheek. "I'll tease you back."  
  
"Ranma..."  
  
"I'm not gonna hide from you, Nabiki," Ranma said seriously.  
  
"Ranma, please--"  
  
Nabiki was cut off, her mouth suddenly full. Ranma's lips  
danced over her own.  
  
Nabiki began to shiver, and broke the kiss.  
  
"Please, Ranma. Not here..."  
  
"Are you done teasing me?"  
  
Nabiki looked around in a panic to see if anyone else had  
seen. None seemed to be paying attention, but she could feel the  
girl's warm hands on her. Ranma's tiny, petite body was stretched  
against her own. She could feel the way Ranma's breasts were crushed  
against hers, and the way the girl's hips were pressed against her  
own  
  
"Oh, God. Don't do this to me, Ranma..."  
  
"There you are!" Nodoka's voice rang out.  
  
Ranma stepped away and smiled warmly at her mother. A second  
or two later, Akane peeked around from behind Nodoka's back at the  
two.  
  
"Where have you been?" She asked curiously. "We've been  
looking all over!"  
  
"Dancing," Ranma said, grabbing Akane's wrist.  
  
"What are you doing?" Akane demanded.  
  
"We're gonna dance!" Ranma said.  
  
"Ranma! Aunty, help!"  
  
"It'll be fun, Akane!"  
  
Nodoka and Nabiki watched the two disappear into the crowd.  
  
"So," Nodoka said.  
  
Nabiki struggled to keep from collapsing. Her entire body was  
quivering.  
  
"That was... demonstrative," the older woman noted.  
  
"Ranma..." Nabiki gulped. "Ranma had a few drinks."  
  
"I see," Nodoka said. "Tell me, Nabiki-chan. Do you have...  
feelings... for my son?" Nodoka asked seriously.  
  
Nabiki didn't trust herself to answer.  
  
* * *  
  
Across the room, Taiyoko touched her fingers to her lips.  
  
"She... she likes girls. She kissed a girl. And she's dancing  
with another girl... and... and... I have a chance!"  
  
-----  
  
~to be continued... 


	11. Dying

Ranma and his friends belong to Rumiko Takahashi. They're used  
here without permission.  
  
------------------------------  
newRanma 11: Dying  
  
by Chris Jones  
------------------------------  
  
Takedo Makuna was quite grateful for his opportunity to  
speak with Ranma Saotome. He thought he had come to know the young  
woman quite well, and was looking forward to speaking with the  
young man.  
  
Taiyoko Saiteiki had called a few minutes earlier to  
indicate that she would be late to her appointment. Now there was  
a difficult case. The young woman was so full of guilt and fear.  
Makuna was afraid that he would never be able to fully help her  
with her problems.  
  
Still, he welcomed the few minutes he had between  
appointments. He was really making progress with Ranma, and was  
going over his notes from her session.  
  
There was a knock at his door. Was it her already?  
  
"Ah, come in, Taiyoko," he said.  
  
When the door opened, he was quite surprised to see a man  
standing inside rather than the petite young woman he was  
expecting.  
  
"Excuse me, can I help you?"  
  
"I'm here to talk to you," the man said.  
  
Makuna realized that his visitor was shaking visibly. He  
shifted uncomfortably in his chair, seeing the threatening  
expression the man wore.  
  
"I'm afraid that I only see patients by appointment,"  
Makuna said, wondering if he should reach for the phone on his  
desk.  
  
"Did you give Naota an 'appointment'?" the man asked  
angrily.  
  
Makuna swore under his breath. "I'm afraid I'm going to  
have to ask you to leave. My receptionist has gone for the day,  
but if you'll call back tomorrow, she'll be happy to make an  
appointment."  
  
When the man began to approach, Makuna reached for the  
phone.  
  
"Put the goddamned phone down, faggot!" the man hissed.  
  
Makuna looked up and gulped. He was staring into the end  
of a small-caliber hand-gun. The man had pulled it out of the  
pocket of his sweat-shirt.  
  
"You must be Naota's father," Makuna said, standing  
slowly, keeping his hands up.  
  
"Get out here," the man said, gesturing with his weapon.  
  
Shaking, Makuna stepped out from behind his desk.  
  
"I bet you think it was really funny to make my son run  
away from home," the man said.  
  
"Naota was a very disturbed young man," Makuna said. "He  
was in a lot of pain."  
  
"I sent my son to you so he could get better, not so you  
could take him away from us!"  
  
"There was nothing wrong with Naota," Makuna said,  
"besides his fear of abuse."  
  
"Do you have any idea what you took away from me?" the man  
said. "My family has been torn apart! My son is living in  
Hiroshima as some guy's bitch now, and it's all your fault!"  
  
Makuna exhaled deeply, realizing what was about to happen.  
"I'm sorry if you're upset about the choices that Naota made, but  
there is nothing I can do change those choices. Even if I could, I  
wouldn't. Naota is happy and well adjusted now. If there's  
anything I can do to make you calm down and put the gun away,  
please tell me."  
  
"Okay," the man said.  
  
* * *  
  
Ranma was almost to the train station by the time she  
realized she had left her satchel at Makuna's office. She would  
have simply left it until her next visit, but she had left both  
her new Dragon Ball and Utena tankoubans inside it.  
  
It was a quick jog back, and Ranma thought she could make  
it before the next train. She sprinted up the stairs to Makuna's  
office and stepped inside.  
  
The waiting room was empty, so she knocked on the door.  
  
"Oy, Makuna-sensei! I forgot my bag. Can I come in?" She  
stepped inside.  
  
*BLAM*  
  
Ranma blinked once.  
  
Makuna fell backwards, a red spray erupting from his  
chest.  
  
The man who shot him, hearing the door hit the wall behind  
him, turned on Ranma. He was carrying a handgun. His face was  
twisted in rage and grief.  
  
Before she had fully realized what was happening, Ranma  
was turning. Her right leg came up over her head.  
  
*BLAM*  
  
Ranma could hear the bullet scream past her left ear.  
  
Her leg connected with the man's wrist, knocking the gun  
away, It hit Makuna's desk and clattered into the floor.  
  
Clutching his wrist, the man turned and fled through the  
open door.  
  
Ranma was torn for a split second. Instead of chasing the  
man down, she chose to stay. Doing her best to burn the gunman's  
appearance into her mind, Ranma knelt down next to Makuna and  
began to look for signs of life.  
  
His eyes had rolled up in the back of his head. Bright red  
blood was pumping freely from the wound in his chest, just to the  
right of his sternum. Ranma realized that if he hadn't actually  
been shot in the heart, one of the large arteries in his chest had  
been cut by the bullet.  
  
The pulse in his neck was nonexistent, and he had stopped  
breathing. Ranma pulled off her red shirt, leaving her clad in an  
undershirt. She wadded it up and pushed it against the wound,  
putting as much pressure on it as she could.  
  
"EEEEEEE!!" A feminine voice screamed from the doorway.  
  
Ranma looked up to see Taiyoko standing in front of her.  
The blonde girl's eyes were wide with horror. Her purse had  
dropped to the floor and upended, spilling out its contents into  
the rapidly growing pool of blood.  
  
"Call an ambulance," Ranma instructed her calmly. "Now.  
He's dying."  
  
Then she tilted Makuna's head back. She forced his mouth  
open and put her lips against his.  
  
* * *  
  
"Ranma!" Nodoka yelled, running into the examination room.  
She lifted her daughter, and began to look her over for signs of  
injury.  
  
"Relax. None of it's mine," Ranma said weakly, gesturing  
to her blood-stained undershirt.  
  
"So you did or did not see the suspect," a policeman asked  
impatiently.  
  
"I t-t-told you!" Taiyoko said, tears running down her  
face. "I saw a man run past me in t-t-the hallway. I didn't see  
what he looked like."  
  
"So you hid from the suspect," the policeman said.  
  
"Hey, pal," Ranma said, pulling away from her mother. She  
interposed herself between Taiyoko and the hostile cop. "You wanna  
lay off? If she said she didn't see him, then she didn't see him.  
I barely saw him, and that was only because he shoved a gun in my  
face, okay?"  
  
"Oh, Ranma, what happened?" Nodoka asked. "We received the  
call from the hospital and--"  
  
"Shhh. It's okay. I'm not hurt. Some guy attacked Doctor  
Makuna. Me and Taiyoko," she gestured to the blonde girl, "were  
around when it happened."  
  
"Is your doctor okay?" Nodoka asked.  
  
Ranma looked away.  
  
"Oh dear."  
  
"They ain't told us nothin' yet," Ranma said, swallowing  
hard.  
  
Nodoka closed her eyes and shook her head. She glanced up,  
seeing the upset blonde girl next to Ranma for the first time.  
  
"You must be Ranma's friend," she said, bowing her head.  
  
"Uh... no... No! I mean, Not yet," Taiyoko said. "We've  
only met a few t-t-times," she stuttered.  
  
The girl was certainly pretty enough, Nodoka thought.  
Surely Ranma hadn't...  
  
"Taiyoko sees Makuna-sensei right after I do," Ranma said.  
"We've been meeting in passing for a few weeks now."  
  
Nodoka tried not to let her sigh of relief become audible.  
The last thing her child needed at this point were more...  
complications.  
  
At this point, another policeman burst into the  
examination room.  
  
"Hey, we coulda been undressed in here!" Ranma blustered.  
  
"Sorry!" the policeman yelled. "Captain," he said, turning  
to the officer who had been questioning Taiyoko. "We cornered the  
perp at his residence. There was a brief hold-up situation. We had  
a ten-fifty six. Investigation is in progress by Captain  
Masakeuchi."  
  
"Great," the police captain said, rolling his eyes. "What  
a coward." He turned back to Taiyoko and nodded his head. "I  
apologize for the questioning," he said. "But we wanted to clear  
this up as quickly as possible."  
  
"Whoa, whoa! Wait a second!" Ranma interjected. "Ten  
fifty-six... What's that?"  
  
The police captain stared at her seriously for a second.  
He jerked his head at the junior officer, who left the room as  
quickly as he came. "It means that the suspect committed suicide  
after he was surrounded by police officers," he explained quietly.  
  
Ranma felt the bottom fall out of her stomach at the  
pronunciation. Vaguely, she heard Taiyoko begin to start crying  
again.  
  
"I'm sorry," the captain apologzied. "There's always the  
possibility when we deal with personal assault cases."  
  
Closing her eyes, Ranma rolled her head back and took a  
deep breath. She tried to calm the sick, nauseous feeling in her  
stomach. She wanted to vomit. Worse, she wanted to take back what  
she had done. CPR probably hadn't helped Makuna at all. Now his  
assailant was permanently beyond the reach of justice. Ranma felt  
like she bungled the situation... badly.  
  
There was another knock on the door. A second later, a  
familiar face protruded into the room.  
  
"And you are..." the police captain prompted.  
  
"I am Saotome-san's physician," Doctor Tofuu introduced  
himself as he stepped into the room. "I understand you've had some  
excitement this evening, Ranma."  
  
"I sure didn't ask for it," Ranma said in a trembling  
voice.  
  
"I thought you might want to know about Makuna-sensei,"  
Tofuu said, placing a hand on Ranma's shoulder. "The surgeon I  
spoke with said that he had a fifty-fifty chance right now.  
They're still operating, but it looks like he might make it  
through."  
  
"You're kidding," Ranma said incredulously.  
  
Tofuu shook his head. "It's touch and go, and will be for  
a while, but it looks like whoever performed CPR on him kept him  
alive long enough for the surgeons to take over."  
  
Ranma took another deep breath, and felt the tears begin  
to run down her face.  
  
Tofuu gave both girls a brief once-over and asked if they  
had been hurt. Ranma admitted to kicking the gun out of the  
assailant's hands, a fact the police captain carefully noted.  
  
He asked Ranma if she would be willing to identify the  
body of the assailant. Ranma gulped down the sick feeling at such  
a request and nodded.  
  
After the police officer left, Tofuu told them that  
Makuna-sensei would probably lose the use of one of his lungs, but  
that the surgeons would probably be able to save his life if only  
they could get the bleeding in his chest stopped.  
  
Several minutes later, a severe looking man and woman  
burst into the examination room and began to protectively hover  
over Taiyoko.  
  
"Why on earth did you get involved?" the woman, a tall,  
bird-like person asked in an upset tone."  
  
"M-m-m-m--" Taiyoko stuttered, unable to get the words  
out.  
  
Taiyoko's father, a short, obese man, glared at Ranma, but  
didn't say anything.  
  
"Where's Pops?" Ranma asked her mother.  
  
"He's out in the lobby with Soun and the girls," Nodoka  
responded. "We weren't sure they would let more than one of us  
in."  
  
Ranma was happy to see her mother, but was more than a  
little upset that her father hadn't come in.  
  
"Are you hurt?" Taiyoko's mother asked.  
  
"I-I-I-I--"  
  
"Answer your mother," her father commanded. "Were you  
assaulted? Are you injured?"  
  
"M-m-m-m--" she tried to speak. Taiyoko's expression  
became tortured.  
  
"Hey, it's okay. Calm down for a second," Ranma urged,  
coming to the girl's defense.  
  
Oddly, it earned her harsh stares from both of Taiyoko's  
parents.  
  
"I-I'm okay," the blonde girl said, a little more in  
control of her speech. "R-ranma had already chased the... the..."  
  
Ranma smiled at her new friend and nodded in  
encouragement.  
  
"We shouldn't be here," the girl's father complained. "I  
have to leave for my business trip tonight and--"  
  
"You're not in any trouble with the police, are you?"  
Taiyoko's mother fretted. "Oh, I need to make sure that they're  
not trying to press charges."  
  
Ranma rolled her eyes at her own mother, who nodded  
seriously. They were dealing with some truly sensitive individuals  
here. Ranma wondered how Taiyoko came out of her family being so  
nice.  
  
"Can we come in?" another voice asked from the door of the  
examination room.  
  
"K-k-kasumi!" Tofuu shouted. "How surprising to meet you  
here of all places!"  
  
"Tofuu-sensei! Is Ranma okay?"  
  
Tofuu shifted into a more serious medical mode, just  
before he began to pat Taiyoko on the shoulder. Ranma breathed a  
sigh of relief and made a gesture that indicated that the blonde  
girl should keep her distance from the doctor, regardless.  
  
"Ranma's just fine," Tofuu said. "Just a little stressed.  
I think that's true for all of us, however."  
  
Kasumi led Akane and Genma into the examination room.  
  
"Well, did you catch the killer, boy?" Genma asked after  
several seconds of silence.  
  
Ranma couldn't help but notice the way Taiyoko's parents  
flinched when her father said 'boy'.  
  
"Nah. He offed himself when the cops caught up with him,"  
Ranma told him in a serious tone, more certain now that she had  
made the right decision. "I stayed behind to do mouth to mouth on  
Makuna-sensei. He might actually live."  
  
Genma pondered his child's statement for several seconds.  
"Good," he said after quite a bit. "It's a martial artist's duty  
to protect the weak."  
  
Ranma smiled, feeling better than she had all night.  
  
Genma whispered something to Nodoka and sidled out of the  
room as Akane and Kasumi began to fuss over Ranma.  
  
"I brought a change of clothes for you," Akane said. "It's  
one of my dresses. I just grabbed the first thing I came to," she  
apologized.  
  
"Believe me," Ranma said, "it's okay. I think I'm gonna  
burn these." She indicated her stained clothes.  
  
Ranma took the overnight bag Akane handed her. She ducked  
into the examination room's bathroom, which had a small shower  
stall. She quickly rinsed off and changed into the short dress  
Akane brought for her. She took a few seconds to look in the  
mirror and make sure there wasn't any blood in her hair, which she  
hadn't washed. She ran her hands through it a few times, and  
stuffed her old clothes inside a shopping bag that was inside the  
overnight tote.  
  
When she stepped back out, Taiyoko's parents were arguing  
about their schedule.  
  
"I'll never make the flight if I have to take her home  
first," the obese man said.  
  
"Well, you should spend some more time with your daughter  
anyway," the skinny woman replied. "It's not like you're the only  
one who has important business tomorrow."  
  
"If it's a problem, Taiyoko can stay with us," Ranma  
offered, a little angry at how Taiyoko's parents were treating  
her. "I mean she's been through a lot. Maybe it would be better if  
she was with friends than all alone."  
  
Both adults stared at Ranma as if she had grown a second  
head.  
  
"That would be just fine," Kasumi seconded Ranma's offer.  
"We certainly have the extra room.  
  
Taiyoko smiled apologetically at Ranma. She had a hopeless  
expression on her face. She glanced up as her mother and father  
took a few steps away and began to argue in whisper tones.  
  
"It's not like she had any friends before," her mother  
said.  
  
"Yes, but we want her to make *normal* friends," he father  
said. "I mean, why do you think the little red-headed slut was  
seeing the doctor in the first place?"  
  
Ranma realized that the two didn't mean for anyone else to  
overhear their conversation, and furthermore realized that she was  
probably the only one in the room who was positioned right to hear  
them. She did her best to keep her face from breaking into an  
angry glare at the whispered insult. She took a few steps toward  
her mother so she wouldn't be able to hear any more.  
  
"I wanna get out of here. Do you know if I can go yet?"  
  
Nodoka shook her head, but Kasumi nodded. "I spoke with a  
doctor outside. They said that you can leave whenever you're  
ready. We just wanted to give you a chance to get changed."  
  
Taiyoko's parents finished their argument, and stared  
firmly at Kasumi and Nodoka.  
  
"If it's alright with you," her mother said, "we'll let  
Taiyoko go with you since we have so much to do this evening."  
  
"That's wonderful!" Kasumi said, taking the blonde girl's  
hand. "Come with us, dear. We'll get some dinner into you, and  
then you can share my room or Akane's."  
  
"H-hai," Taiyoko said, a grateful expression on her face.  
She allowed herself to be led from the examination room by Kasumi  
and Nodoka.  
  
Ranma glanced back at Taiyoko's parents before stepping  
out of the room with Tofuu. They stared back angrily, as if  
threatened. Ranma shook her head.  
  
"I don't get it," she said.  
  
"Don't worry about it," Tofuu whispered.  
  
There was a small parade through the lobby as Ranma and  
Tofuu met up with Ranma's parents and the rest of the Tendous. She  
introduced Taiyoko to the group. Nabiki looked the girl over  
speculatively, but didn't say anything.  
  
On the way out, a rather bishonnen man in his late  
twenties ran up to Ranma, stopping her.  
  
"You're Saotome-san, right?" he asked, his otherwise  
handsome features marred by worry and grief.  
  
"Uh... yeah," Ranma said, defensively backing away a few  
steps.  
  
"Did you hear anything about Takedo? Please! They won't  
tell me anything," he said, near tears.  
  
"Takedo?" Ranma asked.  
  
"Takedo Makuna," Tofuu supplied.  
  
"Oh, god, I've been so worried. I heard he had been shot  
on the radio, and I rushed right over, but I can't get anything  
out of this place," the man stated angrily. "They say I'm not  
family, so they can't release any information."  
  
Tofuu's face was passive, expressionless.  
  
"You're..." Ranma prompted, her brain beginning to drop  
the pieces into place.  
  
"I'm Ayanobu," the man said. "Please... If you know  
anything at all..."  
  
Akane, Nabiki, and Taiyoko had come over to where Ranma  
was speaking with the man. They looked at him curiously.  
  
"Mom, Dad! You guys should go on ahead," Ranma shouted.  
"We'll be along in just a bit."  
  
"Are you okay, son?" Nodoka asked.  
  
Ranma nodded. "Yeah. Go ahead. We'll be okay."  
  
She took a deep breath and turned to Tofuu. "Regardless of  
how close a person is to a patient, the hospital won't release  
information to someone else unless they're family, right?"  
  
Tofuu nodded seriously.  
  
"Even if it was someone close... like a roommate or..."  
Ranma guessed. Or a lover, she didn't say aloud. The pieces had  
all fallen into place in her mind. Makuna-sensei's chosen  
specialty... This man's apparent closeness to the psychologist...  
Ranma suddenly realized that she was in the odd position of  
knowing more about Makuna-sensei's condition than the person who  
was his 'spouse', simply because she was there when he was  
injured.  
  
Ranma turned back to Ayanobu and put her hand comfortingly  
on the man's shoulder. "I won't lie to you," she said. "But I  
don't know a whole lot either. What I do know is that Makuna-  
sensei is in real trouble right now. He got shot in the chest,  
near his lung. Doctors think he's got half a chance, so he might  
live. It's not certain, and he's probably gonna lose the lung even  
if he survives."  
  
Ayanobu's features contorted in anger and grief.  
"Takedo..." he cried, tears running freely down his face.  
  
"I wish I had better news for you," Ranma said.  
  
"The person who shot him..." Ayanobu choked out.  
  
"He's dead. Killed himself when the cops caught up with  
him," Ranma explained, realizing that she was going to be telling  
this story over and over again. "Listen, I may be able to find out  
more about Makuna-sensei tomorrow since I'm his patient. I dunno.  
If I can, I'll tell you, okay?"  
  
* * *  
  
The encounter with Makuna's lover had been draining for  
Ranma. While she was upset that the psychologist had been injured  
so severely, she didn't have any special attachment to him. To see  
someone who was close to him in such pain and fear upset Ranma  
deeply. It made her think about how she would feel if it had been  
one of her parents. It made her think about if it had been...  
  
Ranma shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. It  
wasn't worth it to mourn the dead before they passed. She  
refocused her attention on dinner, which Kasumi had laid out in  
front of them.  
  
Taiyoko was quiet through the late dinner, but smiled at  
Ranma whenever the red-head looked at her. The other girls made  
some minor small-talk, but the gravity of the evening's events  
weighed heavily upon them.  
  
After dinner, Kasumi recommended that they all have  
relaxing baths. She prompted Taiyoko to go first, since she was a  
guest. Akane was going to go along with the girl, but Kasumi  
stopped her, saying that the blonde girl probably needed a little  
time alone to sort out everything that had happened to her.  
  
It was after this conversation that Akane approached  
Ranma, who was still wearing the minidress Akane had lent her.  
  
"So, what's the deal between you and her?" Akane asked,  
leaning against the dojo wall as Ranma performed a calming kata.  
"She's not another girlfriend is she?"  
  
"Why'd you have to go and say something like that, Akane?"  
Ranma asked in irritation. "You think I want everyone hanging all  
over me all the time?"  
  
"Well, you don't do a lot to stop them," Akane said  
seriously.  
  
Ranma 'hmphed' and continued her kata.  
  
Akane's voice was free of the anger that usually  
accompanied such discussions. "So why are you being so nice to  
her?" she asked.  
  
Ranma stopped her kata and walked over to Akane.  
  
"'Cause she's been nice to me, okay? She ain't never said  
nothin' bad about me, and I think she's been trying to be my  
friend for a while, okay? She's really shy, and I think she's got  
real problems at home. You saw how her mom and dad were actin',  
right?"  
  
Akane nodded, grimacing. "I thought *our* parents were  
weird."  
  
"She kinda looked like she was trying to get away from  
that, so I offered to let her come over."  
  
Akane exhaled deeply, apparently accepting Ranma's answer.  
  
"Besides, if it makes you feel any better, she doesn't  
even know I'm really a guy."  
  
"That's true," Akane admitted. Still, her voice sounded a  
little troubled.  
  
After her bath, Ranma donned another one of her Chinese  
shirts and a pair of shorts. She walked upstairs to her room, and  
slid the door open.  
  
"Ah!" Taiyoko squeal from inside.  
  
"Whoa! Geez!" she whipped around. "Sorry about that."  
  
"You scared me a little," Taiyoko said, pulling one of  
Kasumi's nightgowns closed over her bra and panties. "It's okay."  
  
"Didn't mean to walk in on you like that."  
  
"I don't mind," Taiyoko said. "You've been so nice to me  
t-t-today."  
  
Ranma glanced back around to make sure that the girl was  
covered up. She was blushing badly when Ranma looked at her.  
  
"Ah... you're in my room?" Ranma asked. "I thought you  
were gonna stay with Kasumi."  
  
"She said it would be okay if I stayed in your room,"  
Taiyoko blurted out. "You don't mind, do you? I can go back or...  
or... or..."  
  
Ranma realized if she pressed much harder, she was going  
to make the girl start stuttering uncontrollably again. "No! It's  
okay. Really. I'll sleep in the dojo." Ranma thought she saw a  
look of disappointment cross Taiyoko's face.  
  
"I don't mind," she said.  
  
"I... uh... snore," Ranma said lamely. "Really loudly.  
It'll be okay, really. I'll be out in the dojo."  
  
Taiyoko stared after Ranma as the redhead gathered up a  
blanket and a pillow from her room and ran down the stairs.  
  
On her way to the dojo, she passed Genma, who had had a  
few beers after dinner. He looked up blearily at his child.  
  
"Listen, Pops. Taiyoko is up in my room, and I'm out in  
the dojo. You show up either place tonight, you better have a good  
explanation, okay?"  
  
Genma grunted and nodded.  
  
* * *  
  
The next day was a school day, but Ranma stayed home since  
Tofuu had indicated he wanted to give Ranma a checkup after her  
ordeal.  
  
"I called your mother," Kasumi told Taiyoko that morning  
at breakfast. "You're welcome to go home any time you like, but  
we'd all love it if you were to stay for dinner this evening," she  
said.  
  
Ranma smiled, indicating that she thought that was a good  
idea. The girl still looked a little shaky to her, and didn't  
relish the thought of sending her home to such mean-spirited  
parents.  
  
Right before she left for school with Nabiki, Akane  
approached Ranma.  
  
"What's up?" Ranma asked, getting ready for her doctor's  
appointment.  
  
"Behave," Akane commanded.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"You know what I mean."  
  
Ranma blinked. She really didn't... unless Akane meant  
that she was supposed to try to keep Taiyoko from acting like  
Shampoo and Kodachi usually did. Taiyoko hadn't given her any  
indication that she was like that, so Ranma wasn't really worried.  
Like she had told Akane the night before, Taiyoko didn't even know  
she was a guy, and Ranma was planning on keeping that particular  
cat in the training pit for the time being.  
  
"I don't think Taiyoko's got anything planned, Akane.  
Really."  
  
Akane smiled, the corners of her mouth turning up ever so  
slightly. She reached out, as if to touch Ranma's face, but then  
ran out the door before she actually made contact.  
  
"Damned brain. I don't understand anything anymore," Ranma  
mumbled.  
  
Less than a half-hour later, Taiyoko was ready to  
accompany Ranma to Tofuu-sensei's office. The two started walking.  
It was really the first time they had been alone since the  
horrible scene in Makuna-sensei's office, and Ranma wasn't  
planning on trying to discuss that. Still, Taiyoko seemed fidgety  
and nervous.  
  
Ranma was about to open her mouth and blurt out the first  
thing that came to mind, but was interrupted by Taiyoko.  
  
"You have a really nice family," the girl said.  
  
"Uhh, yeah. Thanks."  
  
"I don't understand something, though. Is your family name  
Tendou or Saotome?"  
  
"Uh, Saotome," Ranma said. She realized that no one had  
clued the girl into the peculiar living arrangement that was  
currently in place at the Tendou dojo. "I'm studying martial arts  
with the Tendous," she summarized. "Me and my dad-- he's the big,  
bald guy-- have been there for a little more than a year now. My  
mom moved in with us a few months ago when her house got damaged.  
  
"Was it an earthquake?" Taiyoko asked.  
  
"I bet she thought it was an earthquake," Ranma quipped.  
"Uh... there was a fight."  
  
"A martial arts fight," Taiyoko noted, looking at Ranma in  
awe. The redhead nodded in reply. "So you're not related to...  
Akane or Nabiki?" Taiyoko asked.  
  
"No. I've told people that I'm Akane's cousin before,"  
Ranma said, wondering where the conversation was going. "Mostly so  
they don't look at me funny when I try to explain why I've been  
living with the Tendous for more than a year."  
  
Taiyoko giggled. "They're really nice people," she said.  
  
Tofuu was waiting for them when they arrived at the  
clinic. He told Taiyoko that he had called her doctor that  
morning, and that the man had asked Tofuu to give her a checkup to  
make sure she was okay after her ordeal.  
  
"She probably don't need one," Ranma said. "It was scary  
and all, but she didn't even get hit."  
  
"Traumatic situations can often affect us in ways we don't  
understand, Ranma," Tofuu said. "So it's good just to make sure,  
okay? Besides, I'm certain that you need a checkup."  
  
Ranma rolled her eyes.  
  
True to Tofuu's words, he was only alone with Taiyoko for  
a few minutes. The girl came out of the examination room and  
indicated that Tofuu wanted Ranma to come in."  
  
"So, did you actually get in a fight with the man?" Tofuu  
asked, once he was alone with Ranma.  
  
"Nope. I coulda, though. He was going to shoot me, so I  
kicked the gun out of his hand and let him run off. I think I  
broke his wrist."  
  
"You shattered his forearm," Tofuu said. He pushed the  
door shut, and pulled a piece of paper out of a manilla folder. He  
put it on the examination table next to Ranma. The title on the  
paper was 'Autopsy Report'.  
  
"Yikes."  
  
Tofuu nodded. Ranma skimmed quickly over the report. Most  
of the language was incomprehensible medical terms, but Ranma got  
enough out of it to know that the man she had seen the night  
before had committed suicide by shooting a gun into his own mouth.  
She could only imagine what 'Severe Cranial Trauma' looked like,  
let alone felt like.  
  
Near the bottom, the report noted that the man did indeed  
have multiple fractures and dislocations in his radius, ulna and  
wrist.  
  
Ranma felt a cool detachment from the horror described on  
the paper.  
  
"I guess I was keyed up. Having a gun shoved in your face  
will do that to you."  
  
"I know you didn't have much of a choice in the situation,  
but I do want you to be careful, Ranma. You have the most  
incredible knack for getting into dangerous situations."  
  
"You ain't the only one who wished last night didn't  
happen," Ranma said seriously.  
  
The exam was quick and painless, consisting mostly of  
tests to make sure that Ranma had not aggravated her brain injury.  
Tofuu told Ranma to call him if she noticed anything odd and let  
the two girls go.  
  
It was still several hours before lunch, so Ranma  
suggested they find something to do.  
  
"You wanna go get a snack or something?" she asked.  
  
Taiyoko, who had seen the girl eat, nodded and blushed.  
  
Ranma took Taiyoko to her favorite ice cream parlor and  
ordered huge sundaes for the both of them.  
  
"You ate so much!" Taiyoko noted in wonder.  
  
"Well, I go through a lot of energy," Ranma said,  
pleasantly full of milk and butter-fat derivatives. "Martial arts  
takes up a lot. Of course, I haven't been doing as much as I want  
to lately."  
  
"Do... Do... you want to go shopping?" Taiyoko asked,  
blushing slightly.  
  
Ranma was about to respond disdainfully with a 'not  
really', but saw the pleading expression on the girl's face.  
  
"Yeah. Sure. Whatever. Let's just be sure to get back in  
time for lunch. Kasumi's the best cook in the world... Well,  
except for my mom," Ranma said.  
  
Taiyoko nodded happily, and led Ranma into the shopping  
district. She took Ranma into several shops. She seemed to lose  
much of her shyness and kept trying to get Ranma's opinion on what  
ever trinket or article of clothing she seemed to be interested  
in.  
  
Ranma really didn't know how to react. Worse, the whole  
time they were looking at clothes, Taiyoko started to talk about  
how different clothes would look on Ranma, and tried to persuade  
the girl to try on some of the outfits she had picked out.  
  
Trying not to upset her, Ranma agreed to try on a skirt  
and blouse that her new friend picked out. After looking in the  
mirror, Ranma had to agree that the cream-colored blouse and the  
dark skirt set off her eyes and hair nicely.  
  
"Okay, now you try something on," Ranma said once she had  
returned to her normal attire. She was desperate to get the girl's  
attention off of herself. She didn't mind being fussed over, but  
hated to be made to feel so feminine, especially in front of  
someone she didn't know very well.  
  
"Okay," Taiyoko said, having picked out a short minidress  
for herself. Ranma couldn't help but notice that it was fairly  
similar in cut to the dress that she had been wearing the previous  
night.  
  
Ranma waited several minutes outside the fitting room,  
fidgeting in boredom. After she was about ready to knock on the  
door and see if Taiyoko had fallen asleep. She took a step towards  
the door when the heard the first of the sobs.  
  
"Taiyoko?" she called out.  
  
The quiet sobs continued to pour forth from the fitting  
room door. Gritting her teeth, Ranma poked her head over the door  
to see the blonde girl crouched in one corner, sobbing her eyes  
out.  
  
"You okay?" Ranma asked, opening the door a little. She  
was thankful that her friend managed to get into the dress before  
Ranma came in.  
  
"I t-t-thought I could be strong, like you," Taiyoko  
cried, her stutter coming back.  
  
Ranma closed her eyes and knelt next to the girl. "Hey,  
it's okay," Ranma said, putting her hand on the girls shoulder.  
"That was a pretty awful thing we saw."  
  
"What am I going to do?" Taiyoko pleaded. "Makuna-sensei  
is gone and my parents hate me and I have t-t-to go back t-t-this  
evening and--"  
  
"Whoa! Whoa, your parents don't hate you. They're kinda  
mean, but I don't think any parents hate their kids."  
  
"T-t-they t-t-think I'm sick," Taiyoko said. "I'm a freak,  
and I don't have any friends and everyone hates me, and Makuna-  
sensei won't be able to help me anymore and--"  
  
"Whoa. You're wrong about something there," Ranma said.  
"Yeah, Makuna may not be in the doctoring biz for a while. I think  
that's a given. There's no reason you can't visit him when he gets  
well enough to have guests. Also, you got plenty friends."  
  
"I do?" Taiyoko asked.  
  
"Yeah. Me." Ranma grinned winningly. "I know Kasumi likes  
you, and I'll bet Akane and Nabiki would give you a chance if you  
tried. Better watch out there, though. Akane's really violent, and  
Nabiki'll steal your socks if you let her."  
  
Taiyoko managed a weak giggle through her tears.  
  
"Still, you don't know me. I'm a horrible person," she  
said.  
  
"You ain't horrible. You don't go around hurting people,  
do you? You a thief or a bully?"  
  
"N-no," Taiyoko said hesitatingly.  
  
"Ain't nothing wrong with you then," Ranma said. "C'mon.  
It's about time for lunch. Let's get you dressed and go see what  
Kasumi made, okay?"  
  
"Okay," the blonde girl said.  
  
After she changed out of the dress, Ranma led her out of  
the store and back towards the dojo.  
  
"Even if your parents really don't like you, you can  
always come over and visit, okay?"  
  
Taiyoko nodded. Her eyes were still a little red from  
crying.  
  
"And I ain't no Makuna-sensei, but most of what he does is  
just talk to people. If you ever just wanna talk, we can do that  
too, okay? I bet the Tendou girls would too, if you asked."  
  
Taiyoko gulped, and bowed her head. Before Ranma could  
protest, she wrapped her arms around the red-head's shoulders,  
giving her a brief hug.  
  
"Thank you. You're a really wonderful person, Ranma."  
  
"I ain't so good," Ranma said. "I just try to do what I  
think is right."  
  
They walked along in silence for almost a half hour. Ranma  
noticed that Taiyoko was growing more and more fidgety as they  
neared the dojo. Finally, the girl stopped and stared deeply into  
Ranma's eyes.  
  
"You've been so kind and nice t-t-to me, Ranma," she said,  
her blush spreading to cover her face. "And I probably don't  
deserve t-t-that. But..." she closed her eyes and swallowed. "I'd  
like t-t-t--" She gulped again. "I'd like to make it up t-t-to  
you. Would you let me buy you dinner... and maybe t-t-take you t-  
t-to a movie after..."  
  
Ranma stared at the girl. It was if she was asking Ranma  
for a...  
  
Several months ago, when Nabiki had been tormenting Ranma  
and Akane by 'taking over' the engagement to Ranma, there had been  
a chase at a nearby park. The park had a large hedge maze. Despite  
the fact that it was a fairly simple layout, Ranma had been  
thoroughly lost at the time, and was tricked into grabbing and  
embracing Akane through the bushes.  
  
Afterwards, when the two were walking away from the park,  
they happened across a high bridge over one end of the maze where  
observers could look down and see the people lost inside. Ranma  
instantly recognized where he had been lost and could see all the  
paths he should have taken in an instant. The maze resolved itself  
totally in his mind.  
  
What Ranma was currently feeling felt just like that. All  
the pieces of the maze she was lost in had come together, and she  
was now able to look at it from above and see where she was going  
wrong. She suddenly understood what Taiyoko wanted. It was  
obvious, really, now that she thought about it.  
  
"You want to go out with me," Ranma said emotionlessly.  
  
Taiyoko bowed her head, embarrassment warring with fear  
and guilt on her face.  
  
"You... you don't like me," the blonde girl whispered. "Or  
you have someone else or--"  
  
"Taiyoko," Ranma said, lifting the girl's chin. "I would  
*love* to go to dinner with you. But... there's something you  
should know about me first."  
  
* * *  
  
"Boy, what are you doing?!" Genma squawked.  
  
"Sorry, Pops. Object lesson," Ranma said, dousing her  
father with a bucket of cold water.  
  
"GROOOOWWFFFF!!!"  
  
"I say!" Soun protested, wiping the excess water off of  
his go board.  
  
Taiyoko squealed in fright at the sight of the giant panda  
that was suddenly looming over the both of them.  
  
"Ranma, that wasn't very nice," Nodoka said.  
  
"Sorry, Mom. Had to be done," she turned back to the angry  
panda. "Kasumi's already got a kettle boiling for you."  
  
"Grrrrf! Grrrfff," the panda said, rolling onto its feet.  
He waddled away from his child towards the kitchen.  
  
"It's t-t-true," Taiyoko said, her face turning green.  
  
"Sorry 'bout that," Ranma said. "I'm gonna be stuck like  
this for another few weeks, but... Here," she said, grabbing a  
photo album off a shelf near where Genma had been setting. She  
flipped through several pages until she came to a picture of  
'himself', Akane, Nabiki, and Kasumi outside an amusement park.  
"This is the real me," she said. "This is what I really look  
like."  
  
"I see..." Taiyoko said, her voice tinged with grief and  
disappointment.  
  
"I'm sorry," Ranma said. "I think you can understand why I  
didn't tell you. Life is hard enough when you don't have an  
ancient Chinese curse to deal with."  
  
Taiyoko turned away, unable to meet Ranma's face.  
  
"I'm sorry," Ranma said again. She was about to put her  
hand on the girl's shoulder, but then thought better of it. "I  
still meant everything I said," Ranma offered after several  
seconds. "And I still wanna be your friend, okay?"  
  
Taiyoko's shoulders slumped, but she nodded.  
  
"And you can still talk to me whenever you want to. I  
probably ain't too good at therapy, but I wasn't born yesterday,  
and I've been through a lot too."  
  
"You have, haven't you?" Taiyoko asked, turning back to  
face Ranma. "I'm... sorry... if I made you uncomfortable."  
  
Ranma said, "Don't worry about it," and led the girl from  
the main room. "I got all sorts of guys coming on to me all the  
time. It's a lot less of a pain in the ass to have a cute girl  
coming on to me, believe me."  
  
Taiyoko giggled again. "I wondered why you were so...  
so... open," she said.  
  
"So," Ranma said, a smile on her face. "Did you know  
Makuna-sensei was gay?"  
  
"Yes," Taiyoko admitted. "But it was because he told me."  
  
"Well, I don't feel like a complete idiot then."  
  
* * *  
  
The object of the afternoon for Ranma and Taiyoko ended up  
being trying to find out more information about Makuna-sensei both  
for their own peace of mind and Ayanobu's.  
  
A call to the hospital revealed nothing. Nabiki and Akane  
were home from school by this point, so Nabiki showed them a  
trick. She picked up the phone receiver and dialed the hospital  
operator.  
  
"Hello? Narita Catholic Hospital? This is Nabi Tenkawa  
from the Tokyo Shinbun. I'd like to speak to a resident, please,"  
she addressed the operator.  
  
Ranma made an expression indicating that she didn't  
understand what was going on or why Nabiki had lied about her  
identity.  
  
"It's called 'freedom of press'," Nabiki whispered,  
holding her hand over the receiver. "Of course the papers can  
print whatever they want. On the other hand, a lot of people don't  
realize that they don't *have* to talk to the papers. You'd be  
surprised what this kind of social engineering can do. Yes?" she  
said into the receiver in a more normal tone.  
  
After Nabiki regurgitated her knowledge of the shooting,  
she repeated the questions that Ranma had asked. After listening  
intently for several minutes, she thanked the doctor and hung up.  
  
"Here's the scoop. Yes, they are treating him. No, they  
won't disclose his condition. That means he's still alive. They'd  
say if he had died. This long after surgery, I'm going to guess  
that that means he's going to live.  
  
Ranma exhaled in relief.  
  
"You two might be able to get in to see him if you walk in  
and act like you own the place," Nabiki suggested.  
  
"That's... a good idea. Thanks, Nabiki."  
  
"I'll put it on your tab... And I'll start a new tab for  
you," she addressed Taiyoko.  
  
"Hai," Taiyoko said, smiling.  
  
"I told you," Ranma chastened.  
  
* * *  
  
A few hours later, Ranma and Ayanobu were walking through  
the critical care ward at the hospital. Ayanobu looked nervous,  
but Ranma had taken Nabiki's advice, and was walking through the  
hallway as if she worked there.  
  
"Are you sure about this?" Ayanobu asked.  
  
"What are they gonna do, arrest us?"  
  
Ranma sneaked a peak at a nurse's clipboard as they walked  
past the duty station. Indeed, the nurse looked up, but since  
Ranma seemed to know where she was going, didn't say anything.  
  
"This way. He's in room one fifteen," she said.  
  
She led Ayanobu down the hall and into the room she  
mentioned.  
  
What was inside was not a pretty sight. At first, Ranma  
didn't recognize the psychologist. In fact, he looked far worse  
than he had when Ranma was performing CPR on him. He looked weak  
and old. Ranma thought that the word 'withered' was a good  
description. The bandages across his chest had large, black stains  
inside them.  
  
He had tubes down his mouth and nose, and numerous needles  
projecting from the back of his hand. He was surrounded by  
apparatus, all of their digital screens indicated slow, slightly  
irregular rhythms. The ECG and pulse monitor, which Ranma was  
familiar with from her own stay in the hospital, showed that his  
heart was beating regularly, but not strongly. It was dropping  
beats occasionally. The EEG looked more encouraging. There were  
wild, seemingly random lines, indicating healthy brain activity.  
  
Ayanobu cried out, and dropped to his knees next to his  
lover.  
  
"Excuse me," a doctor said from the doorway. "What are you  
doing here. Can't you see that my patient is very ill?"  
  
"I'm *his* patient," Ranma said, gesturing to the injured  
man. "It's my appointment time, but I think he's gonna sleep  
through it."  
  
"Wha--"  
  
Ranma led the confused physician out of the room by the  
elbow. "How's he doin'?" she asked. "You think he's gonna live?"  
  
The doctor, unsure of what was happening, took on a  
serious expression and looked into Ranma's face. "It's still too  
soon to tell. It will probably be fifty-fifty until he comes out  
of the coma."  
  
"I see," Ranma said seriously, shaking her head. "You  
wanna do me a favor, then?"  
  
"What ever could you--"  
  
Ranma held up a hand, cutting the doctor off. "That guy in  
there... he ain't Makuna-sensei's family, but... he's Makuna-  
sensei's family. Got it? He should be let in to see him."  
  
The doctor stammered for a second and then drew up against  
Ranma. "Hospital policy--"  
  
"Hospital policy is gonna let two people be completely  
miserable," Ranma said, cutting the doctor off. "You said it  
yourself. Takedo Makuna might die. If Ayanobu-kun doesn't get to  
spend every last moment with him... well, I'm gonna hold you  
responsible."  
  
The doctor paused a few seconds, and then nodded  
seriously. "I understand."  
  
"Thank you," Ranma said. She turned back to the doorway  
and took one last glance at the two men, one hovering between life  
and death and one doing his damndest to keep the other anchored to  
the land of the living.  
  
Ranma blinked the tears out of her eyes and turned to  
leave.  
  
* * *  
  
"So, Taiyoko-chan," Nabiki said from the doorway of the  
guest room. "I understand you offered Ranma a free dinner this  
evening."  
  
"H-hai," the blonde girl replied. She had been packing her  
things in preparation to return to her parents' house.  
  
"And I also understand that Ranma didn't take you up on  
the offer."  
  
"That's right," Taiyoko said, blushing slightly.  
  
Nabiki took a step inside the room, and stared deep into  
Taiyoko's eyes.  
  
"I'm interested in taking up the offer if it's still  
open," she said.  
  
"You... You are?" Taiyoko said, gulping.  
  
"Yes. The question is... are you interested?"  
  
"I don't know," the blonde girl admitted. "But... I....  
I... I..."  
  
"Take your time," Nabiki urged.  
  
"I... I would like to find out if I'm interested," Taiyoko  
said.  
  
"Good." Nabiki smiled broadly, and brushed her fingers  
across Taiyoko's trembling chin.  
  
-----  
  
~to be continued... 


	12. Falling

Ranma and his friends belong to Rumiko Takahashi. They're used  
here without permission.  
  
This story contains some adult material. Reader discretion is  
advised.  
  
------------------------------  
newRanma 12: Falling  
  
by Chris Jones  
------------------------------  
  
"Man, I have spent way too much time in hospitals lately,"  
Ranma lamented.  
  
Daisuke, who had his feet propped up on his desk while he  
read a sports magazine, nodded his head. "How's whatsisname  
anyway? The shrink."  
  
"Makuna-sensei. Still in a coma, last I heard" Ranma said.  
"I was gonna go see him again today after school, but it's getting  
kinda depressing."  
  
"I can believe that," Hiroshi agreed. "My grandpa was in  
the hospital for about a month a few years ago. Of course we had  
to go every day. By the end of the month, I just wanted the old  
fart to die so I wouldn't have to go anymore."  
  
Ranma chuckled. "This is the guy who ran in the Tokyo  
marathon last year, right?"  
  
Daisuke rolled his eyes. "A guy has a heart-attack, and  
suddenly he turns into a health expert. Well, it's better watching  
him jog than choking down greasy food all the time."  
  
"Speaking of food, what do you wanna do for lunch today?"  
Ranma asked.  
  
"You ever stop thinking about your stomach, Saotome? I  
dunno. It's still a few hours away, so--"  
  
"Guys--" Hiroshi bolted into the classroom and came to a  
sudden stop in front of his friends. "C'mere."  
  
"What?" Daisuke asked.  
  
"Just... come on," Hiroshi urged. "Before it's too late."  
  
A little sleepily, Ranma stood and stretched, arching her  
back slightly. "What's the big de-- HEY!" she cried as Hiroshi  
grabbed her hand and pulled her from the classroom.  
  
"Hiroshi has gone baibai," Daisuke noted, following after  
the pair.  
  
"This way," the youth said, dragging Ranma along.  
  
"Let go of me!" Ranma shouted, slapping at Hiroshi's hand.  
Before she could do anything to get free, Hiroshi had dragged her  
into one of the school storage rooms. Daisuke followed in behind,  
looking curiously at the pair.  
  
"I sear to God, Hiroshi," Ranma warned. "If you don't let  
go of me right now--"  
  
"Okay, we can hide in those closets. There are slots to  
look out of and--"  
  
"Hiroshi, have you had your medication today?" Daisuke  
asked. "What the hell is going on?"  
  
"Trust me!" Hiroshi pleaded. "If you're ever gonna trust  
me, then get in the closet."  
  
Ranma was rubbing at her wrist. She hadn't liked being  
grabbed so roughly at all. Worse, she hated the way it made her  
body respond to Hiroshi's. Still, Hiroshi had an almost fervent  
expression on his face. She nodded and followed Daisuke into the  
closet on the other side of the storage room.  
  
"Okay," Hiroshi whispered in the darkness of the supply  
closets. He spoke in a tone that was just barely audible even in  
the quiet of the storeroom. "I overheard something that I was  
*not* supposed to. They're gonna be here in a few minutes and--"  
  
"Who's gonna be here?" Daisuke asked.  
  
"We gotta be quiet," Hiroshi urged his friends.  
  
Ranma grimaced, about ready to get up and leave. The  
closet was dark and cramped. It was hot, and she was uncomfortably  
close to the two boys as well. If her body had started becoming  
aroused when Hiroshi had grabbed her wrist, having him leaning  
over her to look out the small vent holes in the door was even  
more intense.  
  
After a few minutes, she began to feel Daisuke's breath on  
her neck. She gulped, suddenly worried that this whole thing had  
some sort of pretext to get her alone in a private, vulnerable  
situation. Her mind rebelled against the thought. Still, part of  
her couldn't stop thinking about what would happen if the two boys  
did try to grab her and start taking off her clothes and putting  
their hands on her--  
  
Ranma shook her head, unwilling to deal with the images.  
She shifted positions slightly so that she was not so close to  
either one of the boys. Ranma swore mentally that if either one of  
them tried for so much as an illicit pinch, she'd beat the both of  
them bloody, medical restrictions or no.  
  
"There..." Hiroshi whispered.  
  
Ranma's attention was torn away from her predicament to  
the front door of the storage room. The handle turned, and the  
door opened, admitting a young woman in a Furinkan uniform. Ranma  
recognized her as one of the eleventh graders, one of Nabiki's  
acquaintances. She thought the girl's name was Miyako or something  
similar.  
  
She glanced around the room suspiciously. For a second,  
Ranma was afraid they'd be detected. The girl continued to glance  
around the room, looking around all the corners. After a second,  
she took a step toward the back wall and pulled the blinds down,  
making sure that no one would accidentally see in from outside.  
  
Glancing around the room once more, she found a long,  
cracked mirror. She picked it up and carried it over to the  
closets.  
  
Ranma, Hiroshi, and Daisuke froze. Neither one of the  
three made any sound or breath while the girl was so close. For  
several seconds, all they could see out the vent holes in the door  
was the girl's waist.  
  
She deposited the mirror against the doors and made her  
way back towards the middle of the room.  
  
A few seconds later, there was another noise at the door.  
This time it admitted a man Ranma recognized as one of the student  
teachers, Hanimaru-sensei. He was tall and broad shouldered.  
  
"You came," the girl said, her voice just above a whisper.  
  
"We could both get in big trouble for this," the man said.  
"I could lose my job or be kicked out of school or worse."  
  
"It's okay," the girl replied. "Nobody knows. I can't wait  
any longer, Sooya-chan," she said, leaning up against him.  
  
Ranma's eyes widened in realization.  
  
The student teacher's eyes flashed. His sour expression  
dissolved, and he returned the girl's embrace. Their lips met in a  
passionate kiss.  
  
"Quickly," she urged him. "We don't have much time."  
  
He nodded, and began to work the zipper on the back of the  
girl's dress. She pulled his tie off and began to unfasten the  
buttons on his shirt.  
  
Ranma began to tremble as he watched the two lovers  
disrobe each other. In just a few seconds, they were both almost  
completely naked. Their mouths moved over each others' bodies.  
  
"Hurry," the girl urged. She knelt down in front of the  
man, facing the mirror she had placed against the closet door. She  
prostrated herself, spreading her knees apart and almost touching  
her face to the floor. The teacher knelt down behind her, his  
hands running all over her naked, vulnerable body. Finally, he  
placed his hands on her hips and--  
  
The girl cried out and--  
  
It felt unreal to Ranma to see such a private, intense  
scene. She knew all the words that described the act, but they  
didn't seem to convey the reality. It looked uncomfortable, but  
both the man and woman had expressions of sheerest ecstasy on  
their faces. The girl's mouth was open, and a low, continuos moan  
escaped her mouth as she was rocked from behind. The student  
teacher's face was contorted, as if in pain, as he thrust against  
her.  
  
He wrapped his arms around her, lifting her off the floor.  
She was supported across his hips.  
  
Ranma and her friends could clearly see the man's engorged  
cock penetrating the girl's swollen, red vulva. Their bodies moved  
together.  
  
After just a few minutes, their actions became fevered and  
jerky. The girl cried out, clutching her hand to her mouth. Her  
lover groaned deeply through clenched teeth.  
  
Giggling, she slumped forward. Moving awkwardly, she  
climbed down off of her lover and stood, leaning against him.  
  
"Are you okay?" he asked, wearily getting to his own feet.  
  
"Hai," she said, pecking his cheek. "That was great."  
  
"Ecchi. Setting up a mirror like that. God, what if  
someone had seen?"  
  
"I would have taken the blame," she assured him, grinning  
up into his guilty stare.  
  
"That doesn't mean I wouldn't be thrown out of here on my  
ass. The entire school is on edge after what happened to the  
principal."  
  
"I know," the girl replied, trying to get dressed. "I wish  
it didn't have to be like this, but it's still more than a year  
until I graduate."  
  
"I know," he said, pulling his pants back up.  
  
Ranma watched the two dress and exchange small talk in the  
wake of what just happened. The two had left the room before Ranma  
realized that she was shivering despite the heat.  
  
After a few minutes, Ranma and her friends silently left  
the supply closet and walked back to class.  
  
Ranma felt like her panties had soaked through. They were  
wet and sticky between her legs. She couldn't help but notice that  
both her friends had noticeable bulges. Both boys pulled  
uncomfortably at their pants, trying to relieve the pressure.  
  
They were late back to class, of course, and had to stand  
in the hallway, but neither of the three seemed to really mind.  
  
It was almost twenty minutes into their punishment when  
Daisuke spoke.  
  
"Hiroshi. I love you, man. You're like a brother, you know  
that?"  
  
"Yeah," Hiroshi replied. "Did you see--"  
  
"We all saw," Ranma noted. Her emotions were warring  
inside her. She felt guilty for witnessing something so private.  
At the same time, she was aroused to the point of misery. What she  
had seen was... undescribable. Not only had she witnessed the  
physical component of something so intense, but also the emotional  
byplays between the two lovers. The combination was powerfully  
arousing. If she were at home, Ranma would run off to take a 'long  
bath' or do something... anything else... so that she could be  
alone for an hour or so.  
  
"I thought there would be more... fluid," Hiroshi  
admitted. "They always make it look so wet and messy in  
doujinshi."  
  
"The videos I've seen are pretty much like... what we saw.  
Well, not like what we saw. The actresses are all... bigger for  
one thing, and it's not so real and..."  
  
"We get the point," Ranma noted.  
  
There were another few seconds of silence between the  
three.  
  
"I think," Ranma said, "That if we ever told anyone what  
we saw, it could really hurt those two."  
  
Hiroshi and Daisuke nodded seriously.  
  
"So, I think we should promise to never talk about what  
just happened ever again," the redhead continued.  
  
"Agreed," Hiroshi said.  
  
"Agreed," Daisuke seconded.  
  
Even if she never spoke about it again, Ranma realized,  
she'd never be able to forget what she had seen.  
  
* * *  
  
The three were subdued at lunch, despite the fact that  
Shampoo had prepared a veritable ramen feast for the entire group.  
  
"You okay, Ranchan?" Ukyou asked as they sat underneath  
the trees on the Furinkan grounds.  
  
"Yeah, just tired," Ranma said. She couldn't help but  
imagine what Ukyou's body would look like supported across her  
male body's thighs. What would it feel like? Would it be hard to  
do? Would it be slippery and wet? Would it be soft?  
  
Ranma suddenly realized she was shivering again.  
  
"You must be tired, Ranma-kun," Nabiki said, leaning over  
Ranma and pushing her hand against the girl's forehead.  
Incidentally, her breasts were pressed against Ranma's shoulder.  
  
The newness and uncertainty of the desire had faded. It  
had been replaced by a familiar longing and need. More than  
anything else, Ranma wanted to grab Nabiki's wrists and throw her  
down on the ground. She wanted to kiss Nabiki as passionately as  
she had seen the two lovers in the storage room kiss. She wanted  
to squeeze and knead Nabiki's breasts in her hands. She wanted to  
suck on the girl's nipples. She wanted to--  
  
"Ranma?" Akane said, leaning over the shaking girl. "Are  
you okay?"  
  
Guilt washed away all of Ranma's arousal. The sensation  
was almost painful. Crying out, the girl lurched to her feet and  
ran away from the group.  
  
"Akane do something to Ranma?" Shampoo asked, although not  
as angrily as Akane expected her to.  
  
The dark-haired girl shook her head in confusion.  
  
"What on earth was that?" Ukyou wondered out loud.  
  
Nabiki grimaced as she watched Ranma disappear into the  
school.  
  
Hiroshi and Daisuke were silent.  
  
"The pigtailed girl is in distress," Kunou noted, rising  
to his feet.  
  
"Kunou-chan, wait..." Nabiki urged. It was too late, since  
Kunou was already sprinting after Ranma. "Oh hell."  
  
"What's wrong?" Akane asked. "Why did Ranma run off like  
that?"  
  
* * *  
  
Ranma found herself hiding behind the restricted shelves  
of the library. Her body was shaking and her mind was in turmoil.  
The reality of her situation had finally come crashing down on  
her.  
  
Her body was starting to make decisions on its own. It  
didn't seem to care about her engagements or anything else.  
  
She was cowering in the corner, trying to figure out some  
way to make it all go away, when she heard a quiet rustling.  
  
Ranma looked up. Kunou was standing above her, his face  
full of concern and worry.  
  
"Are you injured, beautiful one?" he asked in a quiet  
voice. Ranma felt his words hammer into her body.  
  
"Go away, Kunou," she warned.  
  
Instead, the kendoist knelt down next to her. Ranma wanted  
to lash out at him, force him to leave, so she couldn't--  
  
"Are you sick?" he questioned her in a whisper tone. "Do  
you feel ill?"  
  
He was so close. Ranma could smell the musky scent of his  
cologne and the clean, leafy smell of his shampoo. Her shaking  
increased.  
  
She could do nothing but close her eyes as he reached out,  
ever so gently letting his fingers caress her forehead, and then  
her cheek.  
  
"Kunou, don't--"  
  
He cut her off, pressing his lips to hers.  
  
It would be so easy, Ranma realized as Kunou's tongue  
invaded her mouth. She could kneel in front of him, like the girl  
in the storage room. She could just open her shirt and let him do  
the rest, she thought. Her arms wrapped around his back seemingly  
of their own accord. She could pull her pants down just a little  
and she would be able to feel everything she wanted to. She just  
had to--  
  
Ranma pushed Kunou roughly away and slapped him across the  
face.  
  
"What?" the kendoist demanded, rubbing at the bruise on  
his cheek. "Did I hurt you? Did I--"  
  
"Just... shut up, Kunou. I don't want this. I ain't  
interested in this. I like girls, okay? You know that," she said,  
covering her face with her hands.  
  
"My beautiful goddess... Ranma," he said, reaching out to  
her. "Please--"  
  
"NO, KUNOU! DON'T TOUCH ME!" she screamed.  
  
The librarian's assistant poked her head into the room,  
startled by Ranma's voice.  
  
"Saotome-san? Are you okay?"  
  
Ranma stood and ran past the woman, leaving Kunou behind.  
  
The kendoist wilted under the burning hot glare the  
librarian gave him.  
  
"What did I do?" he wondered out loud.  
  
* * *  
  
By the time Akane caught up with Ranma, the red-head was  
in the girl's showers behind the locker room. She was in the stall  
furthest from the door. Akane could see her canvas pants under the  
privacy divider.  
  
She walked around to the front of the stall. Ranma was  
curled up directly underneath the spray, her arms wrapped around  
her legs and her face buried in her knees. Her water-logged  
clothes hung limply over her arms and legs. From the feel of the  
spray, Akane could tell that Ranma was being drenched with  
freezing-cold water.  
  
"Are you okay?" she asked, noting Ranma's quiet trembling.  
She wasn't sure if the girl was upset or shivering from the cold.  
Getting no answer from her fiancee, she crouched down as close as  
she dared to the cold water, balancing on her toes. "Did Kunou do  
something? I don't think I've ever seen him so upset before."  
  
Ranma remained silent.  
  
"What happened, Ranma?" she demanded.  
  
"You don't wanna know, Akane. Trust me," Ranma mumbled in  
response, her voice muffled by the web fabric of her pants.  
  
"I do wanna know," the dark-haired girl retorted. "So tell  
me, okay?"  
  
"You say that, but then you're gonna get all mad like you  
always do and pound me when I tell you."  
  
"I said I wouldn't do that," Akane assured the redhead,  
doing her best not to prove the girl right. "It's okay. I won't  
get mad. I promise."  
  
"I kissed Kunou," Ranma said.  
  
*CRACK*  
  
Water still running down her face, Ranma stared in horror  
at Akane's left hand. The dark haired girl had just crushed a  
large portion of the privacy divider.  
  
"You... what?" Akane asked, her tone unbelieving.  
  
"I don't know what came over me," Ranma croaked out. "It's  
like my body is doing whatever it wants to despite what I want. I  
couldn't help myself when he touched me. I almost let him...  
let..."  
  
"What the *HELL* were you thinking?" Akane demanded.  
  
"I wasn't thinking!" Ranma protested.  
  
"WITH KUNOU?" Akane screeched.  
  
"Not just Kunou. It coulda been anyone," Ranma said, her  
voice shaking. "Ryouga, Hiroshi, Daisuke, Ukyou, Nabiki--" the  
girl gulped. "You. It's... God, I hate this! I hate my stupid,  
fucked-up body. It doesn't do anything right anymore!"  
  
Akane was taken aback by the Ranma's expression. It was  
obvious to her that at least some of the droplets running down  
Ranma's face were tears. Her anger at Ranma's admission fled.  
  
"Why didn't you say anything?" Akane asked in an  
emotionless tone.  
  
"Oh, I'm just supposed to go and tell my fiancee, 'Hey,  
I'm getting turned on by everybody I meet. What do you think I  
oughtta do about it?'." Ranma paused for a second. "Tofuu's still  
got your mallet, right?"  
  
Akane blushed slightly. "Yes, not that it matters. Why?  
Why haven't you told anyone that you... that you're... that you've  
been having... feelings... like this?"  
  
"Why do you think I've been going to a shrink three times  
a week? It's not like it really matters that I can't see him  
anymore, since all he does is tell me I'm perfectly normal and  
shouldn't worry about it."  
  
"But why Kunou?" Akane asked, her face twisted in  
confusion.  
  
"Because he was close," Ranma admitted, her face turning  
red, even under the cold water. "And he touched me... softly.  
And... GYAHHH!! I hate this!"  
  
Akane stared at her fiancee in exasperation.  
  
"I was in the library," Ranma started to explain. "He  
kneeled down in front of me, and touched my face. Then he kissed  
me. It was all I could do to keep my pants on."  
  
Akane closed her eyes, the scene Ranma described playing  
over and over in her head. Kunou was pretty pushy, she had to  
admit. Ranma probably hadn't done anything to invite the kiss,  
but...  
  
"So you like guys now?" Akane asked quietly, dread filling  
her heart.  
  
"NO!" Ranma protested angrily. "But my body doesn't seem  
to know that," she amended in defeat. Her voice was barely audible  
over the hiss of the shower.  
  
Akane knelt down next to Ranma doing her best to stay out  
of the cold water. Allowing one arm to get wet, she put what she  
hoped was a comforting hand on the miserable girl's knee.  
  
"So, if it had been a girl..." she suggested.  
  
Ranma shuddered. "And what am I supposed to do then? Force  
a girl to kiss another girl? I know you're not interested in that  
sort of thing!" she said, laughing humorlessly. "I'm stuck in  
between a rock and a hard place, and I can't get out."  
  
Akane jerked at Ranma's words as if she had been slapped.  
Sighing, she leaned closer to Ranma, letting the cold spray  
trickle down her face. With one arm, she reached back behind Ranma  
and began to turn the shower knob. Within seconds, the deluge of  
freezing cold water stopped.  
  
"Well, I'm not interested in kissing girls," Akane  
admitted. "But... kissing my fiancee..."  
  
Ranma's eyes went wide. She suddenly realized how close to  
Akane she was. The girl's warm breath was raising goose-pimples on  
the cold flesh of her neck.  
  
Akane could hear Ranma's breath speed up. She was suddenly  
very aware of how close her face was to that of her fiancee. Their  
lips were inches apart. Ranma's were blue and trembling.  
  
Her eyes closing, the redhead began to lean forward.  
  
"Hey, are you in here, Akane?" Nabiki's voice came from  
the door of the locker room.  
  
Ranma's eyes popped open to see Akane jerk away from her.  
She hurriedly backed away from Ranma. Her face was full of shame.  
  
To Ranma, it felt like somebody had stabbed her in the  
gut.  
  
"We're back here," Akane called out.  
  
"So are you two ever going to get back to class, or... Did  
I interrupt something?" the girl asked, seeing the odd scene in  
front of her.  
  
"No," Ranma said darkly. "Nothing at all." Then, she  
paused for a second, an odd expression on her face. "*ACHOO*," she  
sneezed.  
  
  
* * *  
  
By the time Ranma got home that afternoon, her nose was  
running, and her throat was starting to get sore from the constant  
sneezing. Her eyes, reddened from sitting under the cold water,  
never did seem to clear up. She seemed to be running a low grade  
fever.  
  
To make matters worse, when she stopped to use the  
restroom after getting back to the Tendou's house, there was a  
long, red smear in her panties. She swore at length, cursing her  
body, her mother, and any female relatives she may or may not have  
had. As she reached into the cabinet near the porcelain basin for  
a pad, she also cursed her own stupidity for sitting under a cold  
shower for so long.  
  
Ranma had a hard time sleeping that night. She tossed and  
turned the whole time, her sneezes and sniffling keeping her  
awake. She was awake the next morning when Kasumi came in and  
called her down to breakfast. When the older girl asked if Ranma  
wanted to stay home from school, Ranma agreed readily.  
  
* * *  
  
"So Ranma had a fever?" Ukyou asked curiously as she,  
Shampoo, and Kunou met Akane and Nabiki after they walked through  
the school gates that next morning. "That's why he was acting so  
strangely?"  
  
Akane nodded, her mouth closed.  
  
Nabiki sighed. Her sister really was a horrible liar.  
  
"Is... the pigtailed girl... okay?" Kunou asked, a guilty  
expression decorating his face.  
  
"She's fine!" Akane assured him, not quite meeting his  
eyes. "It's just a little cold. She'll be over it in a few days."  
  
"It's not like my Ranchan to get sick," Ukyou speculated.  
  
"It happen before. Shampoo should go make sure Ranma...  
Airen has plenty to eat. Old amazon saying, 'is best to feed  
fever'."  
  
Akane glared angrily at the purple-haired girl, but  
couldn't think of any way to counter her suggestion.  
  
"Yeah," Ukyou agreed. "Ranma will need lots of protein and  
carbohydrates to fight off an infection," Ukyou said. "I could  
whip up some stamina okonomiyaki and..."  
  
"That would be a bad idea," Nabiki argued as the chef  
trailed off. "Ranma feels like hell. She didn't even come down to  
dinner last night. Do we really want to put her through the stress  
of having visitors?"  
  
"Do you think Ranma would mind if I sent flowers?" Kunou  
asked Nabiki. The girl winced at the guilt in his voice.  
  
After a few seconds of thought, Akane shook her head. "I  
don't think she'd mind."  
  
"Well, let Ranma know that I'm saving his seat by the  
counter," Ukyou reminded her.  
  
Nabiki nodded and waved as the girl trudged away from the  
group.  
  
"Maybe Shampoo bring over dim-sum platter tomorrow,"  
Shampoo said.  
  
Akane grimaced, but nodded her approval.  
  
Nabiki inclined her head. "Good idea. There's no sense in  
spreading her cold around after all," she concluded.  
  
After the group dispersed, Akane turned to her sister with  
an appreciative expression. "Thanks, Nabiki. I don't know how  
Ranma would feel if everyone barged in on her today."  
  
"I'll put it on your tab," Nabiki said. "Now what's the  
deal with Kunou? I thought he was over his guilt thing."  
  
Akane rolled her eyes. "It happened yesterday. He forced  
Ranma to kiss him," she explained.  
  
"Wait a second. Forced? Forced our Ranma?"  
  
Akane looked away again, suddenly unable to meet her  
sister's eyes.  
  
"You're not telling me the whole story, either, are you?"  
Nabiki guessed.  
  
* * *  
  
Ranma's fever rose slowly but steadily throughout the day.  
She slept for a few hours in the morning, but rose to eat lunch.  
  
"You're burning up!" Nodoka fretted, feeling her child's  
forehead after they ate.  
  
"I know," Ranma sniffled. "This sucks. I ain't supposed to  
get sick!"  
  
"Ranma rarely gets sick," Genma noted. "But when he does,  
he always runs a fever like a bonfire."  
  
"You should get back in bed," Kasumi prompted. "I'll call  
Tofuu-sensei, and see what he thinks we should do."  
  
A few hours after lunch, Kasumi brought the portable  
television into Ranma's room so that she could watch 'Nurse  
Academy'.  
  
Ranma stared emotionlessly, her fever making the scene  
seem unreal, as an actor and an actress worked their way into the  
dense plastic foliage.  
  
"This way," the grounds-keeper, Sifuru, said, leading one  
of the nurses, Kakeri, by the wrist.  
  
He took her into the gardening shed, but once inside, he  
hung his gardening shears on a pegboard. The hook shifted down  
under the weight, and the floor of the shed began to descend.  
Sifuru and Kakeri both had to duck as a false floor slid into  
place over their heads.  
  
When the secret elevator stopped the pair was surrounded  
by high-tech yet cheesy looking electronic equipment.  
  
"What is this place?" the nurse asked, half in curiosity,  
half in dread.  
  
"This is where I conduct surveillance on the hospital for  
the Ministry of Intelligence," the groundskeeper admitted. "Every  
surgery, every treatment, every conversation. It all comes through  
here. No one else would ever be permitted to have this knowledge,  
but I feel I can trust you now," he said, letting his hand close  
on her waist.  
  
The nurse leaned into the grounds-keeper's body, her eyes  
half-closing. "Oh, Sifuru," she whispered in a breathy tone.  
  
"Okay, this is creepy," Ranma said out loud, her voice  
echoing in her ears.  
  
On the screen, the groundskeeper wrapped his other strong  
arm around her back. Ranma could see that he was breathing on the  
nurse's neck. "I trust you, Kakeri," he said. "I trust you enough  
to risk it all--"  
  
*click*  
  
Ranma changed the channel, having decided that she had had  
more than enough of 'Nurse Academy' to last a lifetime.  
  
The channel she had switched to displayed a rather  
effeminate-looking young man talking to a reporter in a dress  
suit.  
  
"Once again, we're talking with Naota Takara," the  
reporter said, "son of the man killed in a police hold-up last  
week after he shot and critically wounded Tokyo psychologist  
Takedo Makuna."  
  
Ranma's eyes popped open in surprise and disbelief. She  
sat upright and turned the volume up on the television.  
  
"I understand that you were one of Makuna-sensei's  
patients," the reporter prompted the pretty young man.  
  
"That's correct," he replied, shifting in his chair. "But  
not for quite a while. I saw Makuna-sensei while I was in high-  
school. That's really when all this started."  
  
"Please explain what happened," the reporter said. "Give  
us any insight you can into what caused your father to commit such  
a brutal crime."  
  
"Well, to put it bluntly, I'm homosexual," Naota replied.  
"When I was fourteen, my father caught me reading a certain  
magazine."  
  
The reporter made an understanding noise.  
  
"He was very upset, and beat me severely," Naota  
continued. "My father had always been very physically violent,  
even abusive, so I thought it was just another beating.  
Afterwards, he started trying to drill into me how evil  
pornography and homosexuality were. I never really understood why  
he was so upset, but I did try to keep my secrets away from him at  
that point. It was about that same time that he started collecting  
illegal guns. It's also about the same time that he started  
fighting with my mother.  
  
"After a few years, he saw me kissing one of my close  
friends. I was beaten, of course, but when I tried to apologize,  
he just told me how sick I was. The beatings continued. He  
threatened me with his guns several times. Eventually, he decided  
that I 'needed help' and sent me to Makuna-sensei.  
  
"What Makuna-sensei told me was that I was normal, if in  
the minority for Japanese society. It was quite a revelation for  
me. I had grown up thinking I was some sort of monster, but I  
understood how badly I was being abused. After about a year of  
treatment, I left home and finished high school in Hiroshima.  
Later, my mother left my father and moved into an apartment near  
mine. It wasn't until I learned that he killed himself that I  
returned to Tokyo. I believe that my father blamed Makuna-sensei  
for my departure."  
  
"How did you learn about your father?" The reporter asked.  
  
"Police in Tokyo contacted me and asked me to identify my  
father's body after the shooting."  
  
Ranma started guiltily, suddenly aware why the police had  
not called her back after she promised to help identify the body  
of Makuna-sensei's assailant. She was glad that they hadn't called  
her, but now she felt guilty that someone else, the man's son no  
less, had to perform such a gruesome task in her stead.  
  
"How do you feel about your father right now?" The  
reporter asked. "Are you saddened by his death?"  
  
"I'm more saddened by the fact that he chose to take his  
anger against me out on one of the few people who ever helped me,"  
Naota answered. "I'm very sad my father is dead, but after I left  
home, I didn't have much love left for the man. I'm more sad that  
he died before he got the help he needed."  
  
"What was your relationship to Makuna-sensei?" The  
reporter queried, as typically sensitive as most television  
journalists.  
  
"My relationship with Makuna-sensei was strictly patient-  
doctor," Naota replied, heading off the reporter. "I believe that  
my father thought that I was... intimate... with Makuna-sensei,  
but nothing could be further from the truth. I have never met a  
finer, nor more ethical person."  
  
"Can you tell us anything about Makuna-sensei's  
condition?" The reporter questioned, obviously reading from a list  
of questions.  
  
"No. I wasn't able to see him when I tried to visit the  
hospital."  
  
"Thank you for answering our questions, Takara-san. Is  
there anything else you'd like to say before we break?"  
  
"Yes. I have found out that one of Sensei's patients  
witnessed the attack by my father and stayed to perform CPR. I  
don't know if I'll ever meet you, but I want to thank you for what  
you did."  
  
Ranma blinked in shock as the reporter thanked Naota again  
and the television screen switched to display a soft-drink  
commercial.  
  
Ranma felt weak after seeing the interview. She turned the  
television off and laid flat on her back. Was human life worth so  
little that it was reduced to television sound-bites? Still,  
Natoa's last words echoed in her head. They buoyed her up  
somewhat. With those words echoing in her head, Ranma drifted off  
to sleep.  
  
  
* * *  
  
Ranma woke again when Akane came into her room. Her head  
was spinning with fever the entire time. She felt out of it, not  
sure for a little while after she woke if she was dreaming or not.  
  
"What?" she asked, unsure of what Akane said.  
  
"I said," Akane repeated herself. "Would you like some  
more blankets?"  
  
"Uh, yeah. Sure. Whatever."  
  
Ranma zoned out for a little longer, but woke again after  
she realized that Akane had bundled her up like a burrito. She was  
burning up, but couldn't bring herself to move.  
  
Akane brushed the girl's head with her slender hand. Ranma  
loved the feel of it. It was so cool. The expression on Akane's  
face was tender and kind.  
  
Ranma managed to free one hand from the pile of blankets  
Akane had wrapped her in and brushed her fingers against the  
girl's arm.  
  
She was surprised when Akane jerked away.  
  
"What?" Ranma mumbled.  
  
"Kasumi is going to have dinner ready in a few minutes,"  
Akane said coldly. "Do you feel like eating."  
  
"Nnn... I dunno," Ranma groaned. She did her best to put  
Akane's weirdness down to her fever, but it still weighed on her.  
  
She didn't remember Akane leaving, or dozing off again,  
but she woke a little while later.  
  
"I heard you weren't doing well," a light, feminine voice  
came from the doorway of her room. It was Taiyoko. Nabiki was a  
few steps behind her. Both girls were dressed fairly nicely.  
Taiyoko was wearing a short skirt, while Nabiki was wearing a  
pantsuit.  
  
"Hey. 'S good to see you."  
  
"I came over t-to go... shopping with Nabiki," the blonde  
girl said. "I thought that I should check on you if you weren't  
feeling too good."  
  
"Ah, I'll be better in a few days. It takes a hell of a  
lot more than a cold to keep Ranma Saotome down for long."  
  
"Well, you rest then," Taiyoko said.  
  
"I's... funny. You're pretty enough to go on a date,"  
Ranma mumbled semi-deliriously.  
  
Taiyoko blushed deeply and ran from the room. Ranma was  
asleep again before she made it from the doorway. She wasn't sure,  
but later thought that the girl might have kissed her forehead  
before she left.  
  
A little while later, there was another visitor.  
  
"She has a fever of 104," she heard Tofuu's voice. "I  
don't think it's meningitis, but if it gets any higher or it  
doesn't break by tomorrow, we'll do a spinal tap just to be sure."  
  
"Is there anything you can do for my son?" Ranma heard her  
mother's voice echo out.  
  
"With a fever this high, I'm fairly certain that it's a  
bacterial infection. I'll give her some antibiotics."  
  
Ranma marvelled at the distorted sound of their voices.  
  
"Ranma, I'm going to give you an injection now," Tofuu  
said.  
  
The girl nodded, letting him know she was ready.  
  
"Do you need a painkiller?" he asked afterward.  
  
"Yeah," Ranma hissed, her throat dry and scratchy. "I've  
been crampin' up."  
  
Tofuu chuckled. "It sounds like your throat is pretty  
sore."  
  
"A little," Ranma admitted. "Mostly, I got a headache."  
  
Ranma felt the doctor's fingers at her lips. She swallowed  
the pills he proffered, and sat up on one elbow to sip at the  
glass of water her mother offered.  
  
Not knowing or caring what time it was, Ranma turned over  
and went to sleep.  
  
* * *  
  
The fever dreams seemed to start fairly quickly.  
  
Ranma was tied down the table once more, but this time,  
Genma was just beating her senseless rather than raping her.  
  
There wasn't a lot of difference in terms of the trauma  
either way, but Ranma was doing her best to try to ignore the  
situation as irrelevant. After a few seconds, she drifted through  
the table and into a pair of strong, masculine arms.  
  
"Oh, thank God," Ranma breathed. "It's Kunou."  
  
"Verily, pigtailed girl," the kendoist said, whispering  
into her ear. His breath tickled her neck.  
  
"Wait a second," Ranma mumbled as the man's hands trailed  
down her belly. "This isn't right."  
  
"Isn't it?" Hiroshi and Daisuke asked as they undressed  
her.  
  
"Can't be," Ranma said, lifting her arms so that Daisuke  
could pull her blouse off.  
  
"You're just not thinking clearly," Hiroshi told her as he  
pulled her skirt from around her ankles. His hands ran up her  
legs, and gently pushed her thighs apart.  
  
"You're right. I'm supposed to be doing this with girls,  
not guys!" Ranma protested. Wearing only a pair of socks, she ran  
away from the two.  
  
"T-t-this way!" Taiyoko urged, gesturing to her. Ranma  
changed directions and ran past the stuttering girl, directly into  
Nabiki's bedroom. Inside, Nabiki was lying naked on her bed. Her  
legs were propped up against the wall, and her head hung off the  
side of her mattress. An expression of ecstasy decorated her  
features.  
  
Indeed, Nabiki's hands were hard at work in between her  
legs.  
  
"It feels good, doesn't it," she asked Ranma.  
  
The redhead nodded, unable to take her eyes off of the  
spectacle.  
  
"I can't seem to stop anymore," Nabiki said. "I do this  
whenever it's too much to bear. I must be sick. Do you think I  
need to go to a hospital?"  
  
"Haven't you spent enough time in hospitals lately?" Akane  
asked, poking her head into the room.  
  
Ranma found herself in a clearing in the wooded park near  
Furinkan High school. She was wearing her nurse's uniform again,  
but didn't appear to be in a hospital setting of any kind.  
  
"Please, no more Nurse Academy. I swear to God, I'm never  
gonna watch any more soap operas ever again!"  
  
"That's good, because you've got more important things to  
do," Nabiki said, holding out a long, slightly curved magical wand  
to Ranma. It was pink, and had bells dangling off of it.  
  
"And just what the hell is this supposed to be?" the  
redhead asked, pulling at the hem of her too-short skirt.  
  
"It's your holy wand, Nurse Angel Ranma," Kunou said as he  
pulled on his boots. He stood to his feet, revealing that he was  
clad almost entirely in European-style plate armor. The only  
eastern concession to the outfit was the kanji for 'Kunou'  
embroidered into his surcoat. He unsheathed his sword with steely  
hiss. "Use it to heal the world of evil influence."  
  
"How girly," Ranma complained. "Can't I get a sword? Or  
how about a magic cup like those two?" she asked, pointing to Soun  
and her father, both of whom were clad in pirate costumes. The two  
men did indeed have magic cups. Genma's was a wooden chalice,  
inset with metal studs. It overflowed with strong-smelling sake.  
Soun's was a tall tankard that seemed to be eternally full of pale  
beer. Accordingly, both men were roaring drunk.  
  
"Boys get grails. Girls get wands," Nodoka informed her as  
she was adjusting her own nurse costume.  
  
"Huh? I don't get it."  
  
"It's symbolic, you moron!" Akane said, holding up her  
Henshin wand. She spun around a few times and was suddenly clad in  
a bright red stylized sailor fuku.  
  
"The beauteous Sailor Akane speaks truly," Kunou indicated  
as he buckled a shield to his arm. "A woman could pour water from  
a grail just as easily as a man could give birth! Verily, a  
feminine touch is best for coaxing magic forth from a wand."  
  
"I don't get it."  
  
"Of course you do, Ranma," Nabiki said. She was now clad  
in a black leotard with a deep, plunging neckline. Her breasts  
were almost entirely exposed, and the points of her nipples were  
visible through the thin cloth. She wore stockings patterned with  
bat shapes, and appeared to have two large bat-wings protruding  
from her back. "It's your dream after all."  
  
"Think about it for a second," Kasumi urged her.  
  
Ranma did so. "Ewww!" she yelled, dropping her wand. "I'm  
a guy! Gimme a sword like Kunou's!"  
  
"Are you?" Hiroshi and Daisuke asked in doubtful tones.  
Both young men were wearing tuxedos and masks. Each held a long-  
stemmed rose.  
  
"Do I look okay, Nabiki?" Taiyoko asked. She was also clad  
in a bat-girl outfit. Ranma couldn't help but notice that both  
girls were carrying white lilies.  
  
"You look fine," Nabiki assured her, using one finger to  
gently stroke the long, oval-shaped pistol in the center of her  
flower. She tore her gaze away from the two girls, only to see  
Kunou, who appeared to be having some difficulty getting his sword  
back into his scabbard.  
  
"Pick up your wand, Dear," Nodoka chided her child. "How  
else are you going to heal?"  
  
"I'm not touching that thing!" Ranma protested. The pink  
wand lying on the ground was suddenly looking less and less like a  
little girl's toy, and much more like something that Ranma would  
see in the boys' locker room. She wanted no part of it!  
  
She was angry! How dare they try to force her to be  
something she was not? In outrage, she grabbed Daisuke's rose, and  
held it in the air above her. She called down lightning, which  
struck in the center of the clearing. All there were burned away  
instantly. Shampoo and Ukyou both begged her to stop, but it was  
too late for that. Ranma screamed, the anger and madness becoming  
all consuming. The burning-white light filled the world around  
her, cleansing and destroying everything.  
  
After a time, the white light faded to grey and finally to  
black. Ranma was left alone in an inky darkness. She hunched over  
and wept, the feelings of anger and hatred replaced by sadness and  
loss. Her anger had destroyed everything. Now she was left with  
the consequences.  
  
Ranma was suddenly in her own futon. Her face was wet with  
tears and perspiration. She felt like she was in an oven, so she  
kicked the blankets away, leaving her damp flesh exposed to the  
cool night air.  
  
Was it a dream? Had she truly woken up? She no longer felt  
the chills that indicated a fever, but the world around her still  
seemed distorted and unrealistic.  
  
She staggered to her feet and to the doorway of her room.  
She hoped it was real, because she really had to use the bathroom.  
Ranma didn't really remember relieving herself afterwards, but she  
did have vague memories of changing her pad and washing her hands.  
After that was taken care of, Ranma's stomach chose to remind her  
that she had skipped dinner.  
  
Trying to will away the loud grinding noises coming from  
her midsection, Ranma made her way downstairs and into the  
kitchen. Once she was inside, the refrigerator seemed to call out  
to her. Ranma drifted over and pulled the door open. The white  
light bathed her in its radiance, revealing a veritable cornucopia  
before her. Ranma began to feast.  
  
* * *  
  
Akane lay awake, her face buried in her pillow. It was  
well after midnight, but she knew how often Nabiki stayed up late  
to read or work out. Kasumi might be up late as well, but she was  
more likely to have gone to sleep.  
  
Ranma wasn't likely to be up and about since she had been  
sleeping all evening anyway.  
  
Akane's thoughts were a whirlwind. They had been for  
several days, really. Ever since... Ever since Ranma said...  
  
After deciding that the absence of noise from next door  
indicated that her older sister was asleep, Akane reached up to  
turn on the lamp next to her bed. She reached in between her  
mattress and boxspring, and pulled out several glossy magazines.  
  
She had to be quiet so she didn't draw any attention to  
herself, but Akane was becoming experienced at that. She was  
almost shaking when she opened the first of the magazines.  
  
* * *  
  
The horrible maw in her stomach filled for the time being,  
Ranma stumbled back up the stairs and towards her room. Her head  
was pounding slightly, and everything around her still seemed to  
be surrounded in a nebulous haze. Her balance was off, and she  
felt incredibly light, as if each step threatened to push her off  
into the stratosphere.  
  
Drawn to the light spilling out from underneath it, she  
opened the door to her room and stepped inside. Only, it wasn't  
her room.  
  
"Akane?" Ranma asked in a raspy tone.  
  
The girl was standing in front of the long dressing mirror  
near her desk. She was wearing a lace bra, gloves and thigh-high  
stockings, but no panties. Her hips were titled suggestively and  
one leg was propped up on a chair. In the mirror's reflection,  
Ranma could clearly see the girl's lightly-furred delta and her  
narrow cleft.  
  
A chance glance at Akane's bed revealed that there was a  
magazine open to a page displaying a large-busted model in almost  
exactly the same pose. The lace panties that matched Akane's bra  
were concealing the next page.  
  
Akane blinked at Ranma's intrusion and opened her mouth in  
horror. She wrapped her arms around her lace-clad torso and bent  
over try to shield her body. She almost fell over trying to get  
out of her seductive pose. Her mouth worked open and closed, but  
Akane was beyond speech. Expressions of fear, embarrassment, and  
anger alternated across her face.  
  
"Ohhh," Ranma cooed dreamily, her eyes not quite focusing  
on her fiancee's almost-naked body. "Okay, okay. I get it. I'm  
still dreaming. Normally I'd stay and we could mess around or  
something, but I'm not feeling too good."  
  
"R-ranma?" Akane stammered as Ranma reached out for her.  
  
The exhausted-looking girl gently brushed the tips of her  
fingers across Akane's cheek.  
  
"Man, you look really cute. It's a shame that you're not  
like this in real life."  
  
Ranma shuddered and swayed on her feet for a second.  
"Nnn..." she groaned. "I gotta get back to bed so I can wake up,"  
she yawned. The girl turned on one heel and staggered out the  
door. "You can tell Nabiki and my dad to leave me alone too. And  
I'm especially not interested in seeing Kunou," the redhead  
muttered. She left Akane's room and closed the door behind her.  
  
Akane blushed to her waist and dived under her covers,  
scattering the magazines into the floor.  
  
* * *  
  
Ranma woke the next morning feeling significantly better.  
The fever seemed to have broken, and while she felt shaky, Ranma  
felt ready to return to regular life.  
  
"Do you think you're going to go to school today?" Nodoka  
asked her just after Ranma had bathed and dressed.  
  
"I think so," Ranma replied, her voice still a little  
scratchy. Staying at home was nice, but Ranma craved a return to  
her active lifestyle.  
  
"Tofuu-sensei said that you shouldn't be contagious, so I  
suppose it's okay if you want to go," Nodoka said.  
  
Ranma nodded happily as she stepped out into the hallway.  
  
Akane was just coming out of her room, clad in her  
Furinkan uniform. Upon seeing the redhead, her jaw clenched and  
her eyes widened. She darted back into her room and slammed the  
door shut behind her.  
  
Ranma grimaced, wondering what could be wrong with the  
girl. She had some vague, fever-colored memories of the dreams she  
had the night before, but nothing that she thought could possibly  
have affected Akane.  
  
She went down to the main room and sat down in her  
customary place. Smiling, Kasumi dished out a generous portions of  
rice and miso. Ranma set about eating eagerly.  
  
Kasumi cleared her throat to get Ranma's attention.  
"Ranma-kun?"  
  
"Hey, this is really great, Kasumi."  
  
"Thank you, but I was planning on serving baked fish as  
well."  
  
"Oh?"  
  
"Yes," Kasumi informed her. "It wasn't very nice to clean  
out the refrigerator without permission, Ranma."  
  
"Uhh..." Ranma smiled apologetically. She did have vague  
memories of eating the night before, but was almost certain that  
she had dreamed it. "Sorry."  
  
"I have trouble tasting anything in the morning anyway,"  
Nabiki mumbled, her eyes still half-closed as she ate. She took a  
long sip of tea.  
  
"Uh... you and Taiyoko went out shopping last night, huh?"  
Ranma asked.  
  
Nabiki very nearly choked on her tea. "Yeah," she said  
after catching her breath.  
  
"Good," Ranma smiled, ignoring Nabiki's unintentional  
outburst. "I'm glad she's starting to make more friends."  
  
* * *  
  
Ranma's day at school was long and miserably boring. She  
had missed a surprise math quiz the day before and was made to  
stand in the hall while the instructor went over the problems on  
the test with the rest of the students.  
  
Worse, Hiroshi and Daisuke both looked like she felt.  
Neither boy seemed to want to talk much. A chance remark from  
Hiroshi indicated that he was feeling pretty guilty about spying  
on the pair the trio had watched earlier in the week.  
  
Ranma nodded. She had been very excited about what she had  
seen, but couldn't think back about it without feeling a fresh  
wave of guilt.  
  
Compounding everything else, Akane wouldn't even look at  
her, let alone talk to her. Ranma ate the extravagant lunches that  
Shampoo and Ukyou provided, not even caring if Akane was glaring  
at her or not.  
  
The last thing Ranma felt like she needed when she  
returned home that afternoon was the cacophony of her parents'  
raised voices.  
  
They were arguing loudly in the room they shared upstairs.  
Downstairs in the main room, Soun was doing his best to ignore the  
two while reading a newspaper. Kasumi had on a pair of headphones  
as she dusted the room. Her face was still pensive.  
  
"--And then you didn't have the decency to come back!"  
Nodoka yelled as Ranma topped the stairway.  
  
Akane looked at Ranma for the first time that day with a  
speculative expression.  
  
Ranma shook her head, indicating that Akane should  
probably not interfere.  
  
"Do you know how long ten years is, Genma? Ten, long,  
lonely years that I spent all by myself?!" Nodoka yelled at the  
top of her lungs. Ranma could hear her voice clearly through the  
closed door. "When you did finally come back, you didn't have the  
kindness in your heart to let me know that you had returned. What  
was I supposed to think? Your letters had just stopped! For all I  
knew you and Ranma were dead... or worse!"  
  
"What was I supposed to do?" Genma answered her guiltily.  
"Just come home and let you chop our heads off?"  
  
"Do you really think so little of me?" Nodoka asked  
incredulously. "Do you really think I would have forced my own  
darling son to commit seppuku when I hadn't seen him for over a  
decade?"  
  
"You sure as hell could have fooled me!" Genma snapped  
back. "This kind of inconsistent behavior is why I had to take  
Ranma away in the first place! I shudder to think--"  
  
"Ranma would have been perfectly fine if you had left him  
with me!" Nodoka countered. "I certainly haven't been completely  
ignoring him for the last two months!"  
  
"WHAT?!" Genma bellowed. "What nonsense are you spouting  
now, woman?"  
  
"Your only son who loves you and depends on you has had  
the worst crisis of his life, and you can't be bothered to lift a  
finger to help him or say a word to comfort him. You're a horrible  
father, Genma!"  
  
"I'm a wonderful father!" Genma shouted. "I raised Ranma  
as best I knew how and--"  
  
"Did you have any clue," Nodoka interrupted him, "that  
your son... your *daughter*... had her first period last month?"  
  
Ranma felt her face turn red, still acutely aware of the  
sanitary pad she was currently wearing. She started to open the  
door.  
  
"Mom, Dad--"  
  
Nodoka and Genma both whipped around, suddenly standing  
shoulder to shoulder.  
  
"Get out!" Genma shouted.  
  
"This doesn't concern you, Ranma," Nodoka warned her.  
Ranma's eyes darted to the hilt of her katana, where Nodoka had  
loosened the blade in its scabbard.  
  
Ranma gulped and hastily backed out of the room, shutting  
the door behind her.  
  
"See!" Genma yelled, still loud enough to be heard  
throughout the rest of the house. "Your only son *fears* you! How  
can you call yourself a mother when he fears a psycho like--"  
  
"Are you saying that my son is a coward!?" Nodoka cried  
out.  
  
"He's certainly been acting like a pansy for the last two  
months!"  
  
"My son is more manly than--"  
  
"See!" Genma blurted out. "You ask why I had to take him  
away! That's why! You would have jumped to his rescue every time I  
tried to discipline him."  
  
Ranma felt sickened, even on top of her cold. There was  
nothing she could do. If it were a fight, she could just pound  
Genma, but that wouldn't stop the arguments.  
  
Ranma ran out of the house and into the dojo, not wanting  
to hear any more. A few minutes later, Nabiki stepped in as well,  
and watched Ranma perform a calming kata.  
  
"Domestic disputes are messy," Nabiki said.  
  
"Fat lot you know about it," Ranma quipped.  
  
"You should see Taiyoko's parents," Nabiki countered. "You  
think they're mean to her? You should see what they do to each  
other."  
  
Ranma nodded in concession, not abandoning her kata.  
  
Nabiki sat down and pulled her hair back over her ear.  
"The worst part is that if anyone tries to interfere, even to help  
out, a husband and wife will still defend each other to the death,  
even if they hate each other."  
  
"Yeah, it's okay if they yell at each other all day,"  
Ranma said. "But if you try to say anything to help..."  
  
"Just... stay out of it, okay?" Nabiki said. "They'll deal  
with it themselves. I think that a lot of what Taiyoko has gone  
through is because she's usually caught in all the middle of her  
parents' bickering. I've seen it happen before, and I'd hate for  
it to happen to you."  
  
"I'll try," Ranma conceded.  
  
* * *  
  
Ranma skipped dinner for the third time, preferring the  
rumbling in her gut to facing her parents again. She stayed out in  
the dojo for some time, practicing katas and reading manga.  
Footsteps on the stone walk outside the dojo let her know that it  
looked like Akane and Nabiki had opted to go out as well.  
  
Ranma wondered if the two girls would stop by the dojo to  
invite her, but they walked away from the house without passing by  
the dojo. In fact, it didn't even sound like they were talking.  
  
Complaining to herself, and desperately wondering what she  
could do about the distance and anger growing between her parents,  
Ranma curled up in the middle of the dojo floor. It felt like her  
whole world was falling down around her!  
  
Doing her best to let the unpleasant feelings wash over  
her, Ranma napped briefly, and was woken by footsteps outside the  
dojo.  
  
The door slid open, and Akane stepped inside.  
  
Still not meeting Ranma's questioning stare, she kicked  
off her dress shoes and walked over to the martial artist. She sat  
down in front of Ranma, her stocking feet crossed behind her. Her  
gaze was fixed on the floor.  
  
"Man, my life has been weird lately," Ranma said.  
  
"Weirder than bird-princes and Chinese curses?" Akane  
asked quietly.  
  
"Good point," Ranma conceded. "I don't know what to do  
about this. Nabiki says that I should just stay out of it, but I'm  
not so sure that's the best way to act. What do you think, Akane?"  
  
"Your parents, you mean?" Akane said.  
  
Ranma nodded.  
  
"I honestly don't know. I don't ever remember my mother  
and father fighting. I could haven been too little, but..."  
  
"It's okay. I didn't expect you to be a relationship  
expert or anything," Ranma said. "It's not like we gotta real good  
relationship, and we're supposed to be engaged."  
  
"About that..." Akane gulped, still staring at the floor.  
"About... our... our... relationship."  
  
Ranma felt a sinking feeling in her stomach.  
  
Akane's mouth was working wordlessly. Ranma suddenly  
remembered something that she though had been part of one of her  
dreams. Akane's semi-naked body, clad in white lace. At first she  
was staring lustily into the mirror, but then was hunched over in  
embarrassment and shame. What had really happened?  
  
"About what you said, in the locker room," Akane  
explained. "You've been... You said I was..."  
  
"What is it, Akane?" Ranma asked, realizing how close the  
two of them were together. She could easily reach out and touch  
Akane. With just a short motion, she could draw the girl in for a  
kiss, or more.  
  
"Back when... God, this is hard for me. Back when you were  
first injured, I started worrying about you. What would happen to  
you... and me... if you decided that you liked being a girl more  
than being a boy."  
  
Ranma nodded seriously, leaning in close to Akane. She  
could hear Akane's rapid, shallow breathing. "But that's not the  
case," she said, quietly enough that no one but Akane could hear.  
  
"When you kissed Kunou, I thought it was," Akane said.  
"When you said that... When you said that your body didn't know  
the difference, I thought that... that... everything I was afraid  
of had come true. But then, we started talking about kissing  
and... and..."  
  
Ranma could feel her heart speeding up. Their faces were  
so close. All she had to do was turn a little and...  
  
"So?" Ranma prompted, inhaling deeply.  
  
"Like you said," Akane replied. "We don't have a very good  
relationship. Not what you'd call 'romantic' by any means. But...  
if you want... if you... if you want our relationship to be more,  
then maybe it can be."  
  
"Akane..." Ranma breathed.  
  
The dark-haired girl stared up into Ranma's eyes. She was  
shaking and trembling. There was an expression of panic on her  
face, but there was something else there as well. Akane closed her  
eyes, and leaned a little closer to Ranma. Did she want what Ranma  
wanted? Could it be? Ranma leaned over, her body tense. Suddenly,  
Akane jerked away, her eyes going back to the floor.  
  
"So... After you change back-- " Ranma jerked to a halt,  
stopping herself cold before kissing her fiancee. Akane's eyes  
were darting around nervously, never quite stopping on Ranma.  
"After you change back, maybe we can... I don't know... maybe try  
a few dates or something?"  
  
Ranma allowed her body to relax and did the best to keep  
the conflicting emotions from filling her eyes with tears. She had  
been so *sure* that Akane wanted to kiss her and be kissed! How  
could she have been so wrong?  
  
Akane started to her feet, and walked toward the door. She  
slipped on her shoes and ran from the dojo.  
  
"Akane, wait!" Ranma shouted, running after her.  
  
The two met again in the kitchen, where Akane was frozen.  
  
Ranma stared in confusion at her fiancee. "What did you  
mean, when I change back?"  
  
Akane put a finger to her lips, and looked around. Ranma  
realized that she could hear the sound that had startled Akane,  
too.  
  
"It's that old pervert!" Akane hissed. "He better not be  
in my room or I'll--"  
  
"I don't think it's him," Ranma said. "Maybe it's a  
robber. It's coming from my Mom and Dad's room."  
  
Akane nodded and silently followed Ranma up the stairway  
and down the hall.  
  
They were almost to the doorway of Genma and Nodoka's room  
when they heard a sharp, feminine squeal.  
  
"Mom?" Ranma whispered in shock. She realized that the  
door was standing very slightly ajar. Curious, but dreading what  
she might see, Ranma stepped up quietly and peeked through the  
door.  
  
Nodoka was laying on her back, completely naked. Her legs  
were up in the air, held by Genma's strong fists. The bulky  
martial artist was behind her, thrusting wildly against her has he  
held her legs aloft. His pants were missing, of course, but his  
gi-top was still half-way on.  
  
Nodoka squealed again, this time muting her scream by  
biting her hand. The other hand was clenched into a fist.  
Occasionally she beat it into Genma's broad, muscular thigh. This  
seemed to spur the man on, increasing the speed of his thrusting.  
The two were bouncing around like a jackhammer. It was amazing  
that they were making as little noise as they were.  
  
"Oh my..." Akane whispered. Ranma realized that she was  
peeking into the room just below her.  
  
Ranma was stunned. She never imagined her father in such a  
position, let alone her mother. It looked so awkward, and yet so  
compelling.  
  
Akane started to shake, shivering against Ranma.  
  
Nodoka was writhing more and more wildly, bucking against  
Genma with a wet, slapping sound. She covered her face with both  
hands, screaming into them. She whimpered audibly afterwards and  
nodded at her husband. "Now!" she groaned.  
  
Genma nodded and picked up the pace of his thrusting. His  
face was contorted in a horrible expression. After just a few  
seconds, he groaned loudly, and ceased his wild motions. He sighed  
deeply and slumped backwards.  
  
"Nnn... No-chan..." he groaned, falling back.  
  
Taking a deep breath, Nodoka lifted herself backwards off  
her husband, rotating her legs over her head in the process. She  
produced a handkerchief from inside her kimono which had been  
discarded nearby, and began to dab gently between her legs.  
  
"You always make such a mess of me," she chided quietly.  
  
Ranma had no idea that her mother was so flexible.  
  
Genma's member, huge and erect, stood straight up,  
pointing to the ceiling. Nodoka leaned over, and began to gently  
wipe it with her cloth, cleaning it of the residue of their love-  
making.  
  
After a few seconds, she lay down on her side next to her  
husband, her hand resting on his broad chest.  
  
Ranma decided that she needed to leave. She felt guilty  
enough about spying! She started to back away, but ran into  
Akane's tense arm. The girl had a death grip on the door facing  
and was still peering intently into the room.  
  
"It's been so long," Genma noted quietly.  
  
"Not since before you left," Nodoka agreed. "Do you  
remember? You stained my green dress... just before the nuns  
showed up."  
  
Ranma blinked in shock.  
  
"I thought I would never find my pants," Genma reminisced.  
"And there you were, trying to convince that one old bag that you  
were doing gymnastic exercises."  
  
"It had been three years since I graduated and she still  
bought the story," Nodoka said, smiling. "I always thought that  
she must have mistaken me for one of the students."  
  
"Heh... wonderful times."  
  
"Of course you and Ranma left not long after that," Nodoka  
noted sadly.  
  
"I can't say it was the wisest thing I've ever done,"  
Genma admitted. "And I've done some pretty stupid things. More  
than anything, I wanted to train him up so that he could one day  
defeat Happosai."  
  
"I was so lonely afterward. Saying those horrible things  
this afternoon made me remember all that. I can't tell you how  
sorry I am, Darling. I only wanted Ranma to have a normal life and  
grow up like any other boy. I very much wanted to pamper him and  
spoil him, just like you were afraid of. I thought that by  
threatening you with that stupid contract, I could keep the both  
of you at home."  
  
"And I took the bluff," Genma admitted, "just like I  
always do. At the time it was better in my mind than the  
alternative."  
  
"And we both know what that bought us," Nodoka seconded  
after almost a minute of silence between the two.  
  
"Do you still want a divorce?" her husband asked her.  
  
Ranma felt like she had been kicked in the gut. Were they  
really considering such a horrible thing? Were two people who had  
just made love serious about parting?  
  
Nodoka turned over, lying on her stomach. She kicked her  
bare feet up in the air while resting her chin on her hands.  
  
"I don't know," she said honestly. "I'm not even sure I  
meant it when I said it this afternoon. But then..."  
  
"How long will it be?" Genma finished for her. "How long  
until you start acting shrewish again or I start panicking? How  
long before one of us starts obsessing again?"  
  
He turned over and leaned up against her, beginning to run  
his hand up and down her naked back. It trailed back over her  
round buttocks, and down one thigh.  
  
"Do you want to be apart?" Genma asked quietly.  
  
"I've thought about it," Nodoka conceded. "Many times.  
There are so many bad feelings between us. There has been so much  
time lost. I honestly wonder if it wouldn't be better to try to  
find someone else and start over. Even if..."  
  
"Even if?"  
  
"Even if I still love you."  
  
Ranma was shaking. She had so few memories of her mother  
growing up that it was like the woman was a ghost to her. Now that  
her family was back together again, she was going to go away?  
  
"I love you too, Wife."  
  
"I think--"  
  
"I think that I am not a very good man," Genma  
interrupted. "I think that I have made a great many mistakes. I  
often try to do my best, especially where the boy is concerned,  
but you can see how well I've done there. Even though he's  
exceeded my wildest expectations, I've hurt him more than all his  
enemies put together." He paused to gently caress the woman's  
naked calf. He squeezed her foot, smiling. "I think that I would  
like to stay together, even if we continue to argue. I would like  
to see Ranma mature. I would like to see... my family continue to  
grow. Even if it means making... arrangements."  
  
"I have considered that as well," Nodoka seconded. "I  
wonder how it would affect Ranma? She... he is more observant than  
in the past. I do not think that any... arrangements... we made  
would go unnoticed."  
  
"You can say that again," Genma guffawed. "And you can bet  
that Tendou's girls will notice. The last thing I need is Akane  
beating me in the head for being 'unfaithful'."  
  
Nodoka giggled cutely. "Perhaps we should proceed slowly.  
We can take the challenges as they come."  
  
"Challenges?"  
  
"Like this," Nodoka indicated. "Are you up to the task?"  
  
"Well, that sounds like a challenge to me!" Genma said,  
nuzzling against his wife's neck.  
  
Ranma was startled as she was pushed away from the door.  
  
"What?" she whispered as Akane pulled on her arm.  
  
"Don't you think we should give them some privacy?" Akane  
asked in embarrassment. Ranma noticed that her fiance was still  
trembling. She wondered why Akane had just now decided that they  
needed privacy.  
  
"Yeah," Ranma conceded. "I guess so. God..." She was  
deeply affected by the intensity of what she had seen. How could  
two people who loved each other so much have so much animosity  
between them?  
  
"I didn't know that they were having so many problems,"  
Akane said quietly.  
  
"I guess I did," Ranma admitted, cocking one ear back down  
the hall as the creaking sound began to emanate from the room  
again. "I didn't want to think about it before, but... Hey, what  
did they mean by 'arrangements'?"  
  
Akane blushed. Ranma could see her face and neck turn red,  
even in the darkness.  
  
-----  
  
~to be continued...  
  
My apologies to everyone who never thought they'd read through a  
lemon scene featuring Genma.  
  
A note on fever dreams...  
  
I am probably one of the least immune individuals I know. This was  
partly due to a childhood fraught with illnesses and partly due to  
an overzealous dermatologist who decided to treat my teenage acne  
with Euyrithrominicin (SP?), a powerful antibiotic. At any rate, I  
got strep-throat several times as a child. My mother never took me  
to the doctor until I was "really" sick, by which time my mild  
streptococcus infection had progressed into a life-threatening  
case of Scarlet Fever. This happened no fewer than 4 times while I  
was growing up. When I started breaking out with acne in my teen  
years, the doctor overprescribed antibiotics for me until every  
bug in my body was immune to them. Needless to say, I've had my  
share of high fevers. The last really high fever I had was when I  
got a round of booster shots when I started school at UT. I took  
several live-culture and dead-culture vaccines, and ran a 104  
degree fever for several days after.  
  
The unifying feature of all the fever dreams I've ever had was the  
scene at the end of Ranma's dream sequence in which she is  
overpowered by anger, rage, and then sadness and remorse at having  
destroyed everything. The emotions themselves are overwhelming to  
the point of hallucination. I was certain that the rage I felt had  
destroyed everything around me. It was only after I woke up that I  
realized it wasn't the world that was burning up, it was just me 


	13. Playing

Ranma and his friends belong to Rumiko Takahashi. They're used  
here without permission.  
  
------------------------------  
newRanma 13: Playing  
  
by Chris Jones  
------------------------------  
  
"Ranma, I think it's been fairly evident that your father  
and I have been having... issues."  
  
Ranma gulped when she heard her mother's statement. She  
had just come in from school on a Friday afternoon to see her  
parents both sitting at the table in the Tendou's front room. They  
both wore serious expressions, and her father's back-pack was  
sitting out, stuffed full and ready to go by the doorway.  
  
Ranma wondered what she would do if her parents told her  
they were getting a divorce.  
  
"I... Yeah. I kinda noticed," Ranma said, swallowing.  
  
"It's been difficult for the both of us, boy," Genma said.  
"I've never been good at figuring out what women... any woman  
wants. I love your mother, however, and I'm doing my damndest to  
try to keep us together. That's not a lot, I'll admit, but I'm  
trying."  
  
"Okay," Ranma acknowledged in a questioning tone. If Genma  
wasn't trying to skip out, then why was his pack loaded?  
  
"Your father and I have been talking seriously for the  
last several days," Nodoka said. "And we have concluded that  
despite our efforts, our relationship is in very serious danger.  
We've begun to hate each other more than anything else, and if we  
don't put a stop to that, there won't be anything left."  
  
Ranma nodded. She wasn't sure she understood. It was sure  
as hell uncomfortable to hear her parents speak so frankly but it  
was oddly cathartic to hear them admit to the problems that had  
been plaguing them the last several weeks.  
  
"That's pretty much what it boils down to," Genma agreed.  
"The both of us figure that we have one chance left. I..." the man  
gulped. "I lost a lot of time on our training trip, Ranma."  
  
"So why are you telling me this?" Ranma asked in a neutral  
tone. "You were both pretty insistent that I keep my nose out of  
your business a few days ago."  
  
"We're going away," Genma replied. He ducked slightly as  
Nodoka slapped at him.  
  
"What your father means, Ranma, is that we're going on a  
vacation. A training trip, if you will. We intend to try to learn  
how to get along once again."  
  
Ranma winced at her mother's words. A training trip? And  
she wasn't invited? Still, she thought that her mother must have  
chosen words that she thought Ranma would agree with. It sounded  
like they were trying to convince her to let them go on a romantic  
honeymoon together. If they were going to... do *that*... again,  
perhaps it was better if Ranma didn't go. After a few seconds'  
thought, Ranma smiled broadly.  
  
"Well, I hope you have a good time. How long do you plan  
to be gone?"  
  
"Several weeks," Genma said. "Not more than a month."  
  
"We'll try to be back before your twelve weeks are up,"  
Nodoka clarified. "We both very much want to see you change back  
into a young man."  
  
"That's awkward," Soun said when Nodoka and Genma  
announced their plans to the Tendous. "I was just going to  
announce that I have to leave this evening as well."  
  
"Hmm... both sets of parents are taking off. It must mean  
that the old freak is about to show up," Ranma speculated.  
  
"Don't say that, Ranma," Soun said, sweating.  
  
Nabiki stared curiously at her father. "So where are *you*  
going?"  
  
"Unfortunately, I have to attend a funeral. It's in San  
Francisco, so I'll probably be gone a couple weeks. I've already  
informed the dojo's students that I'll be unable to teach until I  
return."  
  
"Oh dear," Kasumi exclaimed.  
  
"San Francisco?" Akane asked. "In America?"  
  
Soun nodded. "It was a man I used to instruct in the art  
when you girls were still little. He was only twenty-five. He was  
strong when I taught him, but he eventually had to quit practicing  
the art because of his illness. Apparently it caught up with him.  
It's a shame because he showed real promise."  
  
Nabiki grimaced suspiciously at her father. "So are they  
paying for you to fly there, or are we doing it?"  
  
"Nabiki!" Kasumi scolded.  
  
"The family is paying," Soun said. "I've been asked to act  
as a pallbearer, so they're covering my costs. I'll be staying  
with his uncle."  
  
"So, just us four for two whole weeks, then," Nabiki noted  
out loud. "Hmmm..." She smiled wickedly.  
  
Akane's face suddenly went pale. She glanced at Ranma, but  
quickly turned away again. Ranma wasn't sure, but she thought that  
the girl's expression was almost terrified.  
  
"I can trust you girls not to destroy the house while I'm  
gone, can't I?" Soun asked in a worried tone.  
  
"Of course you can, Daddy!" Nabiki assured him. Ranma  
couldn't help but notice that the girl had her fingers crossed  
behind her back.  
  
"Well, we almost certainly won't have any problems since  
Ranma will stay a girl the entire time," Kasumi noted cheerfully.  
  
Ranma very nearly fell over. "What's that supposed to  
mean?!"  
  
* * *  
  
At Ucchan's, Hiroshi made a similar announcement.  
  
"How long will your parents be gone?" Daisuke asked as he  
picked over his okonomiyaki.  
  
"Just a few days. They may be back as early as Monday, but  
that still leaves the weekend free."  
  
"You know what this means, don't you?" Daisuke asked, his  
eyes wide with anticipation.  
  
"Whoa! Slow down! We can't get away with too much. My  
sister will be there, and she's almost certainly going to have a  
few friends over.  
  
Daisuke rolled his eyes. "Lovely. A house full of giggling  
eighth-graders. Y'know," he mused, gazing up at the ceiling,  
"Ryouko-chan's pretty cute, even if she is an eighth-grader."  
  
"Don't even think it, Dai," Hiroshi said, brandishing his  
okonomiyaki sauce-smeared chopsticks. "If you so much as lay a  
finger on my little sister..."  
  
"Hey! Don't hit me. I get the picture. So, anyway, what do  
you wanna do?"  
  
"I dunno. Watch some dirty movies. Eat some greasy food,"  
Hiroshi suggested. "My sister is going to be there, but we can  
still probably get away with... I dunno... a few things."  
  
"Like maybe a few bottles of my grandfather's 'medicinal'  
sake?" Daisuke suggested quietly.  
  
"Possibly. Possibly," Hiroshi replied in a conspiratorial  
tone. "Ryouko's a blabber-mouth, so if we do *anything* that can  
possibly get us in trouble, then..." he left the statement  
hanging.  
  
"Sounds fun. You think we should call Ranma and see if..."  
Daisuke blinked, and trailed off.  
  
"I dunno if that's such a good idea," Hiroshi said after  
several seconds of careful thought. "Even if Ranma does come, it  
could turn out... bad. She might spaz out again or... or..."  
  
"Still, we should call at least," Daisuke said. "Ranma  
probably won't even want to come, but we shouldn't leave her out  
just because she's a girl right now instead of a guy."  
  
"Good point," Hiroshi said. "You call."  
  
Across the room, Ukyou paused for a second as she scraped  
the grill. She hadn't heard all of the conversation, but she had  
heard enough. Since his parents were going to be gone for the  
weekend, Hiroshi and Daisuke were going to invite Ranma over to  
Hiroshi's house to drink sake and watch naughty movies. What an  
opportunity!  
  
* * *  
  
"Spend the night?" Ranma asked. She listened intently to  
Daisuke's description of what he and Hiroshi had planned for the  
evening.  
  
Ranma was tempted. Just as soon as the adults had taken  
off, things had gotten downright weird around the Tendou Dojo.  
Akane was stepping around Ranma as if the redhead was going to  
attack her. Nabiki had made a phone call, evidently intent on  
having a get-together of some kind while her father was gone. She  
started storming around the house angrily when it became apparent  
that whomever she had called could not attend. Kasumi was dusting,  
but Ranma thought that was what Kasumi usually did for  
entertainment, so it didn't worry her very much. What did worry  
her were the occasionally speculative looks the older girl  
directed at her from time to time.  
  
It would be great to get away from the tension, but at  
what cost? Although they were friends, Hiroshi and Daisuke just  
simply couldn't be trusted around her female body. They had gotten  
better lately simply because Ranma had spent so much time as a  
girl, but she didn't know if she wanted to put herself in a  
position where anything could happen in the dark of night...  
  
Especially if she wasn't sure she could bring herself to  
say 'no' if anything did start to happen.  
  
"Maybe not, Dai. I'm still getting over my cold," she  
lied, "so I probably need to stay home for a few more days."  
  
"That's cool," Daisuke replied. "If you do decide to come,  
we'll probably have some pizza or something. I'm going to try to  
smuggle something in to drink, so..."  
  
That definitely meant Ranma wasn't going. "You guys have a  
fun time and all, but I think I'll get to bed early."  
  
Instead of joining the festivities at Hiroshi's house or  
putting herself in the way of the Tendou girls, Ranma decided to  
retreat to her room and reread her tankoubans. She spent a couple  
hours on Dragonball Z, and then a little while longer on one of  
the war-stories Hiroshi lent her earlier in the week. The story  
was complex, but compelling. Before Ranma realized it, she had  
spent an hour caught up in not only painstakingly recreated  
military design, but a thrilling story of romance and intrigue  
that was set during World War II.  
  
It was about nine in the evening when Ranma decided to  
read her Utena tankouban for the fifth time. Unfortunately she  
couldn't find it anywhere in her room. After a fairly exhaustive  
search, she decided that one of the girls must have borrowed it.  
She was loath to step back out into the house but Ranma was also  
starting to get hungry.  
  
She went downstairs to see Nabiki and Kasumi watching a  
documentary about jungle cats on television. Ranma shuddered in  
revulsion and stepped past them into the kitchen.  
  
Kasumi had considerately left out a tray of sandwiches.  
Ranma picked up several and poured herself a glass of soda. She  
went back into the main room and saw that the program the two  
girls were watching had changed. It was now talking about highly  
toxic snakes and frogs, creatures with which Ranma had no  
problems.  
  
"Sit down, Ranma," Nabiki scolded. "Quit hovering over my  
shoulder like that."  
  
"Okay." Ranma sat next to Nabiki and started to polish off  
her sandwiches while they watched the documentary.  
  
"Okay, who's the bigger pig?" Nabiki asked as the  
television displayed a snake who was trying to swallow an entire  
monkey it had just killed. "That thing or Ranma?"  
  
"Whaff?" Ranma said, trying to act like she hadn't just  
stuffed an entire sandwich into her mouth.  
  
Kasumi giggled cutely while Nabiki rolled her eyes.  
  
"What's so funny?" Ranma asked. "I'm an active guy. I need  
a lot of food!"  
  
"You're priceless, Saotome!" Nabiki said, wrapping her arm  
around Ranma's shoulder and squeezing the girl close to her.  
  
Ranma stared in horror at Nabiki's hand. She could feel  
the girl's slender arm wrapped around her back. If Akane were to  
walk downstairs just now...  
  
Then Ranma began to smell Nabiki's perfume. It mixed with  
the scent of the shampoo she used as well as Nabiki's own subtle  
fragrances. It was headily intoxicating. She could also feel the  
warmth from Nabiki's body. Her soft breasts were pressed into  
Ranma's side, and her breath began to play down Ranma's neck.  
  
Ranma's first reaction was to stiffen up in shock. She  
wanted to allow herself to snuggle against Nabiki and inhale her  
sweet aroma. She wanted to return Nabiki's embrace and let her own  
hands close around the girl's body.  
  
Stiffly, Ranma stood up out of Nabiki's playful embrace.  
It was a hard, hard thing to do, but Ranma was trying desperately  
to keep her body from making her decisions for her.  
  
"Either of you seen my Utena book?" Ranma asked.  
  
"The first one?" Nabiki asked, her face somewhat sullen  
after Ranma stood up. "Yeah. I was reading it yesterday. I think  
Akane may have it now."  
  
"Okay."  
  
Before anyone could say anything else, Ranma ran back up  
the stairs.  
  
"Akane?" she asked, opening the girl's bedroom door. "Do  
you have my Utena book?"  
  
Akane actually yelped as Ranma opened her door, and  
quickly thrust whatever she had been reading under her pillow.  
  
"Akane?"  
  
"It's not under my bed!" Akane said quickly.  
  
"Why would it be under your bed?" Ranma asked, unsure of  
what Akane meant.  
  
"Nothing's under my bed!" Akane countered.  
  
"Akane?"  
  
"Don't you ever knock, Ranma?!" the dark-haired girl  
yelled angrily.  
  
"Jeez, Akane! What's the deal? Have you or have you not  
seen my Utena tankouban?"  
  
"Oh, that? I got it from Nabiki yesterday." Akane gestured  
to her dresser, where the book in question was lying on top of a  
stack of some of Nabiki's shoujo manga. Ranma couldn't help but  
notice that many of the titles in the stack were some of the more  
racy stories Ranma had heard of. She glanced curiously at Akane,  
who was staring back at Ranma with a challenging expression.  
  
"Thanks," Ranma said, stepping out of the room. "Geez, I  
should have gone to Hiroshi's house," she muttered. "At least I'd  
understand what was going on."  
  
* * *  
  
Ukyou understood that one of her biggest obstacles to her  
romance with Ranma was the fact that the martial artist lived with  
Akane and her sisters. It was also one of the biggest boons to her  
goals, since she knew that Ranma and Akane didn't get along very  
well. Being cramped inside the same house all the time was certain  
to get those tempers flaring. It balanced out. Ukyou made the  
occasional attempt to get Ranma out of the house and into the tiny  
apartment above Ucchan's, but even she had to admit that the  
Tendou's home was much nicer than her own.  
  
Also, every time she had Ranma over for any duration, it  
took her weeks to recoup the cost of the food her fiancee  
consumed. Better to let the Tendous soak up that cost until Ukyou  
could more easily afford it. In the meantime, it was better to  
supply lunches and snacks to her true heart.  
  
Still, tonight's opportunity was not to be missed. Ranma  
would be away from Akane, and probably slightly inebriated if what  
Hiroshi and Daisuke had said was true. Now was the time to apply a  
little bit of 'Tender Loving Care', and let Ranma see how much she  
loved him.  
  
Giving her hair and makeup one last brief glance before  
she walked out of Ucchan's, Ukyou pulled a long coat over her  
shoulders and began to make the short walk to Hiroshi's house,  
which was on the other side of Furinkan High.  
  
She paused for a second near a park bench, thinking about  
the fact that despite her fiancee's birth-gender, Ranma was still  
stuck as a girl thanks to the surgery she had been through a  
couple months ago. Ukyou viciously crushed the thought as she  
adjusted the strap on one high-heeled shoe. She picked the grocery  
sack she had been carrying back up off the park bench and resumed  
her trek.  
  
Ranma was a boy trapped in a girl's body. Ukyou had lived  
in almost exactly the same situation for most of her life. Just  
because the reason for her existence had breasts was no reason to  
deny her the affection or love she craved. She was certain that  
Ranma was still interested because she had actually caught the  
redhead looking at her body several times. The fact that her  
fiancee was staring at her body frightened her a little bit, but  
it also excited Ukyou immensely. She was not sure she could return  
that same kind of affection until Ranma managed to change back  
into a boy, but Ukyou would be damned if she wasn't going to  
encourage Ranma to continue to look. If letting Ranma see more of  
her body would encourage deeper feelings then...  
  
Ukyou broke off her train of thought as she approached  
Hiroshi's house. Her heart was burning with a determination to win  
Ranma and show him how truly she loved him. She held on to that  
thought firmly as she rang the doorbell.  
  
Hiroshi answered the door. He was smiling broadly, and  
Ukyou caught the tiniest whiff of alcohol on his breath. Behind  
him, Daisuke looked on curiously.  
  
"What's up, Ucchan?" Hiroshi greeted her familiarly.  
  
"Oh, a little bird told me that Ranchan was here, so I  
thought I'd stop by with some goodies."  
  
"Okonomiyaki!" Daisuke cheered.  
  
"Hey! That's really nice, but Ranma's not here."  
  
"Oh, don't kid around with me!" Ukyou laughed, pushing  
past Hiroshi. Her firm resolve wouldn't let anything like this  
stand in her way. "I know my Ranchan is here somewhere."  
  
"Wait--" Daisuke said, trying to cut her off. "She's  
really not--"  
  
Ukyou grinned broadly as she heard a feminine giggle. She  
pulled a large bottle of sake and several okonomiyaki take-out  
boxes out of her sack. "Oh, Ranchan!"  
  
She followed the laughter down the hallway, ignoring  
Hiroshi and Daisuke's attempts to stop her. All the while, she was  
carefully working herself free of her coat while being careful not  
to drop the presents of food and drink she had brought along.  
  
'Ukyou, wait!" Hiroshi warned.  
  
Ukyou threw open a bedroom door, and yanked her coat off  
at the same time. "Konnichiwa, Ranchaa..."  
  
She froze, absolutely certain that none of the three girls  
sitting in the bedroom watching a sappy romance movie was Ranma.  
She shivered a little bit, suddenly realizing how little of her  
body the bunny costume she was wearing actually covered.  
  
The three girls inside the room stared at Ukyou in shock,  
their mouths open in disbelief. Behind them, the movie continued  
to play.  
  
"Oniichan?" One of the girls asked quietly. "Is this a  
joke?"  
  
Ukyou whirled on Hiroshi, who was grinning broadly at her,  
his eyes unmovably fixed on her cleavage.  
  
"Wow," he murmured. "I'll never understand why you keep  
*those* bound up all the time."  
  
Daisuke was doing his best to keep from drooling.  
  
"Where is Ranma?!" Ukyou demanded, half in anger, half in  
embarrassment.  
  
"I told you," Hiroshi said. He was still grinning, but  
started to back up and make placating gestures. "She's not here.  
She said she was still getting over her cold."  
  
"You're perfectly welcome to stay," Daisuke said.  
  
Ukyou glared darkly at him, her eyes promising death and  
dismemberment.  
  
"Maybe not," he hastily amended.  
  
Hiroshi looked over Ukyou's shoulder into the bedroom she  
had just invaded. "Sorry, Ryouko. Ukyou's one of Ranma's friends."  
  
"Ohhh..." The younger girl's tone was understanding.  
  
Ukyou's murderous glare increased in intensity. Hiroshi  
began to fear for his life. "I tried to warn you," he said weakly.  
  
Ukyou put the food she had brought down on a nearby shelf  
and, gathering up as much of her shredded dignity as she could  
muster, pulled her coat back on over her bare shoulders.  
  
She stormed past Hiroshi and back toward the front door of  
the house.  
  
"Really Ukyou," Hiroshi said. "You don't have to go if you  
don't want to. Ranma's not here, but we were just about to put on  
a movie. You want some pizza?"  
  
"Thank you," Ukyou said coldly, "but no." She turned and  
left, letting the front door slam behind her.  
  
"Weird friends you got, Hiroshi," Ryouko said in a  
sarcastic tone.  
  
Daisuke shook his head sadly. "You have *no* idea. What a  
hottie, though. Can you believe she wears a boy's uniform to  
school all the time?"  
  
"Pervert."  
  
Daisuke wasn't sure if Hiroshi's sister had directed her  
accusation at him or the girl in the bunny suit who had just  
visited them.  
  
"Damn damn damn damn damn..." Hiroshi muttered. "You have  
no idea how close we came to getting our asses beat."  
  
"Good point," Daisuke seconded. "Ukyou can be, well,  
temperamental. I wouldn't say anything about this," he hinted to  
the girls. "Let's not make a bad situation any worse."  
  
* * *  
  
"We're going to play a board game, Ranma-chan. Do you want  
to play?"  
  
Ranma considered Kasumi's suggestion. Maybe it would give  
everyone a chance to blow off a little steam. Also, if Ranma was  
concentrating on trying to keep from losing, she wouldn't think so  
much about Nabiki's long legs, or her firm, slender body, or...  
  
"Sure," Ranma agreed. It was that, or go take another  
'long bath'.  
  
Downstairs, Nabiki was busy sorting play-money into  
stacks. Akane looked up from where she was setting up the playing  
board and shuffling the cards that went with it. Ranma thought her  
expression was slightly guilty, but couldn't for the life of her  
think why.  
  
After a few minutes, the game was set up and ready to go.  
Kasumi rolled two fives, and went first. She rolled again to move  
and immediately bought Oriental Avenue. Akane landed on it and had  
to pay rent on her first roll.  
  
The game was fairly typical. Nabiki was ruthless when it  
came to extracting rent and business deals with the other players,  
while Kasumi had no problem making all the rolls that were  
necessary to avoid landing on her high-rent spaces. Akane landed  
on and bought several of the high-rent properties, but had  
horrible luck assembling a monopoly.  
  
Ranma did better than usual, concentrating like hell on  
the game instead of Nabiki's thighs or Akane's pert, firm breasts.  
Her mercurial face didn't give her away as badly as it would have  
if they were playing something like poker. After a little bit she  
was able to forget about what had happened with Nabiki earlier in  
the evening. She landed on one of Nabiki's monopolies, but  
actually had accumulated enough money from passing 'GO' to afford  
the exorbitant rent.  
  
"Oh, my!" Kasumi exclaimed after an hour or so of play.  
"It's getting so late. I really should get to bed."  
  
"Do you want to sell me all your property before you go?"  
Nabiki suggested.  
  
"That wouldn't be fair to Ranma and Akane, would it?"  
Kasumi quickly sorted her assets and put them back onto the 'bank'  
tray. Nabiki grimaced, but handed the dice to Ranma since it was  
her turn.  
  
Ranma rolled two sixes, enabling her to jump Boardwalk,  
which Akane owned, pass 'GO' and collect 200 dollars, and land on  
Oriental avenue. Ranma glanced down, not believing her luck.  
Kasumi had just put Oriental back in the bank, and Ranma had both  
the other light-blue properties! She quickly put down enough money  
to buy the card and several houses. It was all the money she had  
in the game, but both Akane and Nabiki were closing on her. This  
was her chance to win! She grinned madly at both the other girls.  
  
Glaring darkly at the redhead, Nabiki rolled the dice.  
  
"Heeee!" Ranma squealed in exultation.  
  
Nabiki's face was stricken. Almost sickly, she advanced  
her token to Vermont Avenue.  
  
Ranma was rolling in the floor, a wicked, joyful  
expression on her face.  
  
"She got you," Akane said, trying to hide her own smile.  
  
"Thank you, Akane. I would have completely missed that if  
you hadn't pointed it out."  
  
Akane clenched her eyes shut and did her best to keep from  
laughing out loud.  
  
"Wonderful... I had just about everything sunk into  
housing, too. You'll pay for this, Ranma."  
  
"It's only a game, Nabiki!" Ranma said, her eyes sparkling  
with innocence and light.  
  
"Houses sell for three-quarters purchase value--"  
  
"Half," Akane corrected her sister.  
  
In the end, Nabiki ended up having to sell most of the  
houses she owned in order to pay off Ranma. She still had quite a  
few hotels on various properties, but the wounded, angry  
expression on her face let Ranma know that she had scored a fairly  
major hit.  
  
Akane rolled, and promptly landed on Park Place, which she  
had been trying to get the entire game so that she could make a  
monopoly. Despite landing on high-rent properties a few times, the  
girl had enough cash saved up to put four houses Park Place and a  
hotel on Boardwalk.  
  
As Nabiki limped around the board, Ranma managed to avoid  
her hotels. She rolled a nine after landing on Pacific Avenue, and  
promptly landed herself on Boardwalk.  
  
"Well, the shoe's on the other foot now, isn't it Ranma."  
  
"Yeah, but what a ride. How much do I owe you, Akane?"  
  
Akane told her. Ranma began slowly counting the small pile  
of cash she had, but Nabiki took it from her and began leafing  
through it.  
  
"It's not enough, Ranma. You'll have to sell those  
hotels."  
  
"Awww..."  
  
"As a mater of fact, you'll have to mortgage most of your  
property. This looks bad, Saotome. At this rate, you've already  
lost."  
  
"Damn."  
  
"But," Nabiki said, "I think you may have an alternative."  
  
"Oh?"  
  
"Yes. I think that maybe, if you're lucky, Akane will let  
you slide on that rent payment if you give her a kiss." Nabiki's  
eyes were wide, and full of mischief. Her lips were pursed.  
  
Akane's eyes widened in shock at Nabiki's statement. She  
blushed and began to stammer.  
  
"Really?" Ranma asked, unsure of Nabiki's words. She was  
certain that Nabiki was teasing her, but wasn't sure how. Did  
Nabiki think that Akane really wanted Ranma to kiss her?  
  
"No!" Akane shouted. "We're both girls! I can't kiss  
another girl!"  
  
"Ranma doesn't seem to think so. Do you, Ranma?"  
  
Ranma began to stammer, now certain that this was a trap.  
She wanted to kiss Akane, but the girl's face was contorted in  
fear and embarrassment.  
  
"Ranma is your fiancee, Akane," Nabiki said in a teasing  
tone. "Shouldn't you be able to kiss the person your going to  
marry?"  
  
"It's not like that!"  
  
"Oh?"  
  
Ranma was about to say something, but Nabiki held up her  
hand to silence her.  
  
"What is it, Akane?" she asked, an evil, sadistic smile on  
her face. "Are you afraid of something? Admitting something maybe?  
Maybe you want to kiss Ranma, but don't want her to think that you  
like kissing girls. Hmm?"  
  
"Shut up, Nabiki!" Ranma yelled.  
  
"If he's really a guy, Akane, why do you have any problem  
kissing him?" Nabiki pressed. "You do you like boys, don't you?"  
  
"OF COURSE, I LIKE BOYS!" Akane shouted.  
  
"Well, you say you do, but you've been engaged for a year  
and I bet you've never once kissed your fiancee. Has she, Ranma?"  
  
Ranma was silent, but she was certain that the chagrined  
expression on her face answered Nabiki's question.  
  
Akane was standing now. Her fists were clenched in anger,  
but there was a panicked, horrified look on her face.  
  
"How long is Ranma supposed to wait, Akane?" Nabiki said  
in a calm, rational tone. "Would Shampoo or Ukyou hesitate to kiss  
him, even if he is a girl?"  
  
"Nabiki..." Ranma interrupted.  
  
"I bet they wouldn't, would they, Akane? Don't you want to  
kiss your fiancee?"  
  
There were tears standing in the corners of Akane's eyes  
and she was visibly shaking.  
  
"Nabiki, you should stop," Ranma urged her. "This is  
mean."  
  
"It's not mean, Ranma. It's the truth. Isn't it, Akane?  
How about this-- I'll give you a more immediate scenario. If you  
don't kiss Ranma to end the game, I'll kiss him instead and win."  
  
"What?!" Ranma shouted.  
  
Akane was frozen. So was Ranma for that matter. Sitting  
stock-still, she had absolutely no defense to offer when Nabiki  
leaned over and pressed her lips to Ranma's.  
  
The redhead's eyes were wide with horror but her mouth  
opened almost of its own volition when she felt Nabiki's tongue  
probing against her lips. Nabiki's mouth moved against hers. She  
could feel Nabiki's hand trailing up her back and Nabiki's fingers  
tangling themselves in her short hair. She could feel Nabiki's  
other hand on her cheek.  
  
Ranma heard a quiet moan and then realized it came from  
her own throat.  
  
Dimly, as the world turned pink and hazy around her, Ranma  
heard Akane's footsteps as the girl ran from the room. She had a  
hard time thinking about anything but the way Nabiki's tongue felt  
as it slid across the roof of her mouth.  
  
After a few seconds, realizing that her own arms were  
wrapped around Nabiki's back, and that she was kissing back almost  
as forcefully as Nabiki was.  
  
Nabiki broke away from Ranma and took a deep breath.  
"Well, you may be a boy on the inside, but you're certainly female  
on the outside, Ranma. Oh, by the way... I win." She stood and  
stepped away from Ranma. The red-head watched her walk slowly to  
the stairs. She looked back once at Ranma. The girl wasn't sure  
what to make of her heavy-lidded, smoky expression. It was  
dangerous, certainly, but was there also a hint of invitation in  
it?  
  
The rosy sensations fading, Ranma realized that she would  
very probably not survive the next fourteen days.  
  
"I am so dead. Akane's gonna kill me!"  
  
She got up and ran like hell.  
  
* * *  
  
After a long walk, Ukyou had blown off most of her steam  
at both Hiroshi and Daisuke, whom she understood didn't mean to  
humiliate her in so thorough a fashion, and Ranma, who wasn't  
where she was supposed to be when she was supposed to be there.  
  
Of course, Ukyou noted sourly as she began to unlock the  
front door of Ucchan's, the knuckles on her left hand were bloody  
where she had taken a great deal of her anger out on a convenient  
brick wall. Ukyou was pragmatic enough to realize that she had set  
herself up for the long fall. It wasn't Ranma's fault. She kept  
telling herself that. It wasn't Ranma's fault.  
  
Ranma... who was running just as fast as she could towards  
Ucchan's.  
  
When Ranma saw her childhood friend outside her  
restaurant, she was relieved. For the last quarter hour, she had  
been running in circles desperately trying to figure out what had  
just happened to her.  
  
Her first instinct had been to contact Makuna-sensei to  
see what he thought of the whole mess. Unfortunately, the man was  
still in a coma. Ranma remembered saying that most of what the  
doctor did was ask questions and explain their answers, so Ranma  
tried asking herself questions.  
  
Why did Nabiki kiss her? Ranma didn't know. It was all  
part of a scheme to win the game, she thought, but Ranma was  
certain that wasn't the answer. There was some sort of elemental  
contest going on between the two youngest Tendou sisters that  
Ranma just couldn't fathom.  
  
Okay, what *made* Nabiki kiss her? Akane had been right  
about one thing, Ranma thought. Girls didn't usually kiss other  
girls, and Nabiki made a point of saying that Ranma was female, at  
least on the outside.  
  
Makuna-sensei once said that Nabiki might genuinely be  
attracted to Ranma. Was that true? Had Nabiki kissed her  
because... she wanted to? Because she was attracted to Ranma? Or  
was it just some scheme to get back at Akane?  
  
She said Ranma was a boy on the inside, but a girl on the  
outside. If Nabiki was attracted to Ranma, which of those two was  
Nabiki attracted to?  
  
Her mind looped in circles going over and over those same  
questions. Compounding Ranma's frantic desperation was the intense  
excitement inside her that was still building as memories of the  
kiss played over and over in her head. Also was the guilt she felt  
for doing something like that right in front of Akane. Of course,  
she could always argue that Nabiki had kissed her, but Ranma knew  
she had kissed back. There was no doubt in her mind that Akane had  
seen that.  
  
The doubt stopped when she saw Ukyou. Surely good ol'  
Ucchan would never betray her or try to trip her up like Nabiki  
had. Ranma was certain that she could trust Ukyou, and maybe even  
get her to help Ranma understand what was really going on.  
  
Then she realized that Ukyou wasn't wearing her normal  
garb, nor the conservative feminine clothing she sometimes wore  
when not working. Ukyou had on a long coat, but Ranma could  
clearly see the chef's legs, which were covered in sheer nylons.  
She was wearing high-heeled shoes. Ranma never really understood  
the significance of shoes like that before, until she realized  
what the peculiar angle did to Ukyou's posture. She noted the  
changes to her friend's backside even through the coat.  
  
"Uhh... Hi, Ucchan," Ranma greeted her, her eyes  
unconsciously drawn to the deep cleavage that was visible under  
the coat.  
  
"Ranchan?" Ukyou's voice was irritated. "Are you  
wearing... lipstick?"  
  
An expression of panic decorating her face, Ranma roughly  
wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. She came away with a  
long, pink smear.  
  
"Oh, shit! She was wearing lipstick?!" Ranma exclaimed.  
  
Ukyou's calm expression narrowed. Her left eye began to  
twitch. "Who was wearing lipstick, Ranma?"  
  
"Uhh... I said that out loud, didn't I. Ah, dammit..." The  
dread Saotome foot-in-mouth had struck again.  
  
"WHO WAS IT, RANMA?!" Ukyou screamed.  
  
"Uhhh..."  
  
"Wait here just a second," she said, unlocking the door.  
Ukyou stepped inside. Ranma glanced in the window, but she really  
couldn't see anything. Ukyou stepped back outside, carrying her  
large battle spatula and a bandoleer full of spatula shuriken.  
  
Ranma gulped, Her friend's coat had fallen open to display  
a strapless leotard. The combination of beauty, naughtiness, and  
deadly intent was almost too much for her.  
  
"I guess saying that you look really great isn't going to  
help me, is it?"  
  
"DIE, RANMA!"  
  
"The head! The head! Watch the head!"  
  
Ranma was in for a long night. She was in for an even  
longer couple weeks.  
  
-----  
  
~to be continued... 


	14. Believing

Ranma and his friends belong to Rumiko Takahashi. They're used  
here without permission.  
  
------------------------------  
newRanma 14: Believing  
  
by Chris Jones  
------------------------------  
  
If Friday night went poorly, Saturday was sheer hell.  
Ukyou refused to talk to Ranma anymore, and the more Ranma tried  
to explain her way out of the situation, the worse it got.  
  
This was a fairly severe problem in Ranma's estimation,  
because Akane stayed locked in her room most of the day, up until  
early afternoon, when she stormed out and announced that she was  
going to cook dinner for the family.  
  
Ranma didn't dare go to Nabiki for help because that was  
what got her in trouble with both Ukyou and Akane in the first  
place. A quick call to the Nekohanten revealed that the shop was  
closed. That had been the case more and more often since Shampoo  
reunited with her mother.  
  
Luckily for all of them, Kasumi supervised Akane in the  
kitchen. Dinner was bad, but not lethal. Ranma and Nabiki both  
choked down several bites and retreated to their respective rooms.  
  
When Hiroshi called a few hours later indicating that he,  
Daisuke, his sister, and her friends had decided to have a movie-  
marathon, Ranma literally jumped at the chance to get away from  
the Tendous. She stuffed a change of clothes in her backpack, and  
leapt from the window of her bedroom.  
  
Ranma was introduced to Ryouko, Hiroshi's sister, and Saya  
and Tinaka, her friends from school. They were already in the  
middle of watching a cheesy horror movie, so Ranma settled right  
in for the duration.  
  
It was fairly pleasant, all told. There was snack food and  
soda in vast quantities, and no alcohol seemed to be present. When  
Ranma curiously whispered her observation to Hiroshi, he nodded  
his head toward the girls.  
  
"Ah. I see," Ranma said.  
  
In truth, having both sexes present created a subtle  
balance in which Ranma was comfortable. Hiroshi and Daisuke were  
both behaving quite a bit better than they usually did, even when  
the girls changed into pajamas.  
  
They alternated action movies with horror movies. Ranma  
got to watch quite a few really good films she hadn't seen before.  
  
It was after everyone started to grow sleepy that Ranma  
headed into Hiroshi's kitchen. She leaned over the sink and drank  
from the faucet.  
  
"You're really a boy, right?" A voice behind her asked.  
Ranma turned and wiped her mouth. It was Ryouko, Hiroshi's  
fourteen-year old sister.  
  
"Yeah." Ranma thrust out her chest. "I certainly look like  
one, don't I," she said self-mockingly.  
  
"I'm sorry if I'm bothering you, but I was curious.  
Oniichan tried to explain it to me last night, but..."  
  
"Don't worry about it. Yeah, I'm really a guy. It's a  
curse."  
  
"Really?"  
  
Ranma nodded. "Stay away from southwestern China if you  
have the option. There's all sorts of crazies around there. Belive  
it or not, getting this curse was probably the most normal thing  
that happened to me in that part of the world."  
  
Ryouko's eyes widened. "What happened? Can you talk about  
it?"  
  
It was strangely cathartic to tell someone about her  
adventures in China, first before she was cursed, and then later,  
when bird-people from Phoenix mountain assaulted Ranma and her  
friends. Ryouko was wide-eyed and her expression was disbelieving,  
but Ranma shrugged at the end of her story. "That's what really  
happened."  
  
When she and Ryouko returned to the main room where  
everyone else was dozing in front of 'Drunken Monkey Master 4'  
Ranma looked around curiously. "Where did Daisuke get to?"  
  
"And Saya?" Ryouko asked.  
  
Hiroshi blinked himself awake briefly. "I think they went  
to bed." He promptly dozed back off.  
  
"Sounds good. Tinaka's already asleep," she said, pointing  
to the couch where one of her friends had stretched out. "I'm  
going to go get in bed too."  
  
Ranma nodded, and pulled out her backpack. Filled with  
clothes, it neatly doubled as a pillow. She stretched out on the  
floor across the room from Hiroshi and allowed herself to doze  
off.  
  
Only a few minutes later, Ryouko was shaking her  
shoulders.  
  
"Saya's gone!" she hissed.  
  
"What?"  
  
"She's not in my room."  
  
"Maybe she went for a walk?" Ranma suggested.  
  
"She's afraid of the dark," Ryouko insisted.  
  
Ranma wondered why she said the next thing she did for  
some time. "Maybe she's busy making out with Daisuke or  
something."  
  
Ryouko blinked. "I don't think so."  
  
"Don't worry about it, then."  
  
Unfortunately for Ranma, Ryouko did worry about it, and  
wouldn't let her sleep. Apparently she trusted Ranma because she  
was a girl, at least at the moment.  
  
Ranma walked down the hallway and nudged Hiroshi's bedroom  
door open.  
  
"Hey, Daisuke. You seen Sa-- Never mind. Sorry."  
  
"What?" Ryouko asked as Ranma closed the door.  
  
"Like I said," Ranma whispered. "They're busy making out."  
  
"What?!"  
  
Ranma held a finger to her lips. She hadn't seen much...  
but she had seen enough. She *wasn't* going to start spying again.  
That just caused too many problems.  
  
"But--"  
  
"It's none of our business," Ranma said in exhaustion,  
hushing the girl. "Go to bed."  
  
* * *  
  
Ranma left the next morning before anyone was up and  
around. She could only imagine the fallout from Daisuke's late-  
night adventure, and didn't really want to be a part of it.  
  
Grudgingly, she made her way back to the Tendou dojo,  
where Kasumi was preparing breakfast. Neither Nabiki or Akane was  
up and around yet.  
  
"Did you have a good time?" the older girl asked.  
  
"It was okay. We watched movies most of the night. I  
talked with Hiroshi's sister quite a bit. That was pretty cool."  
  
"Oh no! Surely there weren't girls there."  
  
"Yeah," Ranma informed her. "What's wrong with that?"  
  
"It's just not proper, Ranma," Kasumi said.  
  
"Okay, explain this to me. I still don't understand."  
  
"When boys and girls our age are alone together, naughty  
things happen."  
  
Ranma blinked, remembering the single, solitary instant  
she had seen Daisuke and Ryouko's friend Saya together. Saya was  
sitting in Daisuke's lap with one of his arms wrapped around her.  
Their lips were locked together and Daisuke's other hand was  
snaked up under the girl's top.  
  
Perhaps Kasumi was right. Maybe things like that were  
inevitable whenever males and females came together. Still, she  
didn't see anything wrong with what had gone on. Saya left the  
room shortly after the two were interrupted. Ranma knew that she  
wasn't much of a judge, but she didn't think the two had done  
anything more intense than fondling each other a little bit.  
  
"It's not proper because those things can have bad  
results," Kasumi continued. "You know where babies come from don't  
you?" she asked.  
  
Ranma nodded.  
  
"Well, if those naughty things go on, then that can  
result," Kasumi said. "Nobody's immune from it. Having a baby  
should be a wonderful thing, but if it happens to people who  
aren't prepared for that responsibility, it can be a very bad  
thing."  
  
Ranma had never really considered that aspect before. She  
had always thought that Kasumi was rather over-concerned about the  
relationships between men and women, but this understanding was a  
new side of her.  
  
"You really think so?"  
  
"Oh, I know so!" Kasumi said. "I know that I certainly  
wouldn't be able to resist if a handsome man came to me late at  
night. If I really loved him, I don't think that I would stop to  
consider... precautions."  
  
Ranma fell over, stunned by the older girl's words.  
  
"The feelings are impossible to control. Some people have  
a better time of it than others, I would imagine, but I think more  
people should wait before they begin experimenting with that sort  
of thing.  
  
Ranma was silent all though breakfast, ignoring both Akane  
and Nabiki. Kasumi had shocked her to her core. Sweet, gentle  
Kasumi had those same kinds of feelings?  
  
After breakfast, Kasumi came to her again, dressed in  
fairly nice clothes.  
  
"Would you like to come to church with me this morning,  
Ranma?"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Sunday Mass is always so beautiful," Kasumi said. "I  
don't know what direction your faith leans in, but you seem  
troubled today. I know that I always find peace if I go Mass."  
  
Ranma wasn't sure she wanted to go. She had never  
seriously considered *any* religion before, let alone  
Christianity. Still, if anything was going to provide answers, it  
was in her best interest to look.  
  
* * *  
  
Ranma was less than comfortable in the dress and pumps  
Kasumi stuck her in to go to the small church. Still, it wasn't  
bad as some of the things Ranma had been through recently.  
  
She waited patiently as Kasumi went into a small booth  
Ranma learned was called a confessional. She wasn't sure what sins  
Kasumi had, but the girl was certainly inside confessing them for  
long enough.  
  
Afterwards, Kasumi stopped in front of a rack full of lit  
candles. She lit a small candle, added it to the group, and prayed  
briefly. Ranma wasn't certain, but she thought Kasumi was praying  
for her father to be safe as he traveled overseas.  
  
The ceremony itself was fairly tedious. Most of it was  
composed of different kinds of prayers to the Christian God. Ranma  
wasn't sure what was going on, but she knew that the brass  
sculpture near the front of the sanctuary was rather grotesque. It  
displayed a haggard and tired-looking man with several thorn  
branches wrapped around his face. His feet and wrists had been  
nailed to the bottom three points of a cross, and there was a  
large, open wound in his side.  
  
His face was peaceful, however. He gazed upwards,  
apparently waiting to be freed from his torture.  
  
At one point during the ceremony, Kasumi ate a small  
cracker and drank a tiny glass of what looked like juice. Ranma  
realized that this was part of a ceremony she knew nothing about,  
so she abstained despite the fact her stomach was grumbling.  
  
What really interested Ranma was the serene, radiant  
expression on her face. Kasumi normally looked peaceful, but this  
was something else entirely. Was Kasumi so truly exultant in her  
faith that it made her this happy?  
  
The ceremony took slightly less than an hour from  
beginning to end. Afterwards, Kasumi moved slowly to the church's  
entrance, happily greeting several acquaintances.  
  
Ranma was feeling rather crowded, and was ready to be free  
of the gathering and, more importantly, out of the dress she was  
wearing.  
  
It was with Ranma's typical luck that she and Kasumi met  
someone they knew.  
  
"Hello, Kunou-san!" Kasumi said. "How are you doing  
today?"  
  
"Oh no," Ranma groaned as they came to a stop on a  
stairway.  
  
"I'm doing as well as can be expected, Tendou-san."  
Kodachi Kunou greeted her. "Well, if it isn't the pigtailed-girl,"  
she said, glancing at Ranma. "My brother is most wroth with you."  
  
"Good," Ranma muttered. "Maybe he's finally learned to  
leave me alone."  
  
"I think he's busy trying to figure out what he's done to  
upset you."  
  
"I don't get it. I've punched him maybe a few thousand  
times, and he doesn't get the hint, but I run off crying one time  
and he goes to pieces."  
  
Kodachi actually laughed at Ranma's statement. It wasn't  
her usual roaring cackle, but instead a truly amused giggle.  
  
"Well I'm glad somebody's amused."  
  
"It's not you, I'm laughing at, pigtailed-girl. It's my  
doltish brother. If you need some lessons on manipulating the poor  
sap, I would be glad to share my secrets. Anything to get him out  
of the house and away from me. Tell me..." she said anxiously,  
changing the subject. "In return for such instruction, tell me  
when can I see my Ranma-sama again."  
  
Ranma blinked. "It's not even worth explaining to you  
again, is it?" She sighed. "Well, I don't really care about  
manipulating Kunou. I just want him to stay away from me. You can  
see your Ranma-sama again in about three weeks. First of the  
month. That's when they'll let me change back. I can't tell you  
how much I'm looking forward to it."  
  
Ranma closed her eyes for a second, thinking about how  
wonderful it would be to never ever menstruate again.  
  
Two unshed tears stood in the corners of Kodachi's heavily  
made-up eyes. "Must you be so cruel and keep him from me the  
entire time?"  
  
"Listen, Kodachi. If I could, I'd let you see him right  
now. Belive me, this is every bit as rough on me as it is on him."  
  
It was at that moment, Ranma heard the tiniest of clicks.  
There were mechanical sounds of all kinds in the church, both from  
the ancient plumbing and the fairly new air conditioning system.  
The florescent lights made their quiet humming noise overhead and  
Ranma was fairly certain that there was a vacuum cleaner running  
somewhere in the building. Still, this noise stood out in her  
mind. She was certain she had heard it before.  
  
"What was that?" she asked Kodachi and Kasumi.  
  
"What ever do you mean?" Kodachi replied.  
  
"I'm afraid I don't hear anything," Kasumi said.  
  
*click*  
  
"There it is again."  
  
Kasumi shook her head sadly.  
  
"I belive I heard it that time," Kodachi said, wiping her  
eyes. "Surely, it's the thermostat or something similar."  
  
Ranma glanced around, looking for the source of the noise.  
She happened to glance down, and saw a glint of light from the  
darkened base of the stairwell. It disappeared almost as quickly  
as Ranma turned her face downwards.  
  
"Oh, God-Dammit!"  
  
"Ranma!" Kasumi scolded. "Don't say that, especially not  
here of all places."  
  
"What is it?" Kodachi asked.  
  
"Camera. Some asshole was taking pictures up our skirts!"  
  
Kasumi gasped. Most of the people were gone from the  
church by this point, so there was no one around to panic. Kasumi  
held her hands to her mouth in shock and gasped out loud. "Surely  
no one would do that in a house of God," she said doubtfully.  
  
"People have done truly horrible things in houses of God,  
Tendou-san," Kodachi said. "I don't doubt for a second that we are  
being preyed upon." She drew her ribbon from her blouse and began  
to twirl it menacingly.  
  
"I must tell Father Nagisa."  
  
Ranma nodded at Kasumi. "You do that. C'mon, Kodachi.  
Let's go find that pervert before he gets away."  
  
Kodachi nodded, snapping her ribbon tight. Both teens  
simply leaped over the banister of the stairwell, their dresses  
flaring out around their hips as they fell. Kasumi ran back up the  
stairs, presumably to find the head priest. Ranma grabbed a pipe  
just before she landed, swinging around and landing lightly on her  
feet.  
  
Kodachi hit the floor rolling, coming up in a graceful  
somersault.  
  
"This way," the gymnast said, pointing off in the  
darkness. "There is a maze of old offices and classrooms down  
here. Our stalker has no doubt intends to take refuge in one of  
them."  
  
"Let's keep him running then," Ranma said. "Don't give him  
a chance to go to ground."  
  
The two ran through a long, featureless hallway, and into  
a large, dimly lit room. It appeared to be a cafeteria of some  
kind.  
  
"To the left," Kodachi instructed. "If we corner him in a  
classroom, he'll no doubt try to make a stand of some kind. We're  
only women to be preyed upon after all," she said derisively.  
  
"That brings up a point," Ranma said. "I'm not really  
supposed to fight because of my injury. I'll help if I gotta, but  
if we can, I need play bait and let you take this guy out."  
  
Kodachi nodded. "I thought as much. Akane Tendou made a  
great deal out of both Ranma-sama's and your own doctor's orders."  
  
Ranma shrugged. "There!" she said, catching a glint out of  
the corner of her eye. The perverted photographer was trying to  
hide in the darkness of an alcove, just outside the cafeteria but  
the glint of his camera lens gave him away.  
  
Kodachi's ribbon snaked out, snapping into the darkness.  
The man they were chasing yelped and started to run. Kodachi  
lashed out again, and caught the man around the ankle. He twisted  
agilely, however, managing to spring himself from her trap.  
  
Ranma was ready for him. She had picked up a couple broken  
tiles off the floor and sent them spinning through the air. Both  
hit him. He yelped, crying out in pain, but didn't stop running.  
He dodged into a nearby classroom.  
  
"That classroom has an exit in the next hallway," Kodachi  
said in a whisper tone.  
  
"Let's cut him off," Ranma said.  
  
The two raced around the corner. Ranma threw open the door  
of the classroom.  
  
The flash from the man's camera blinded the both of them.  
Kodachi spun and hit wall face first, unable to see where she was  
going. Ranma felt the man rush past her and tried to grab him, but  
lost him in the bright lights that covered her field of vision.  
  
"Hurry," Kodachi said, trying to get back to her feet.  
  
"Wait a second," Ranma said. "Let your night vision come  
back. I can still hear him running."  
  
"I can too," Kodachi noted.  
  
"How do you know so much about this place?" Ranma asked,  
waiting for her sight to return.  
  
"The church used to maintain a school down here. There was  
an... incident... when I was in junior-high. I transferred here  
for several months while that blew over."  
  
"Ah." Ranma didn't press, but remembered that Kodachi had  
been stalked and nearly raped at St. Hebereke when she was  
younger. That was almost certainly the incident she was referring  
to.  
  
"I'm ready, pigtailed-girl."  
  
"He went this way," Ranma said.  
  
After a few seconds, they could clearly hear the man's  
footsteps again.  
  
"He's going for the stairs," Ranma noted quietly as they  
approached the abandoned cafeteria.  
  
"There is another staircase further down," Kodachi said.  
"If you hurry, you can cut him off before he makes it out of the  
building."  
  
"I'll try to herd him back towards you. Let's corner him."  
  
Ranma rushed off. She had no trouble finding the second  
stairwell Kodachi mentioned. She almost flew up it, leaping from  
banister to banister. She knew that she would be in serious  
trouble if Tofuu-sensei ever found out what she was doing, but  
this seemed more important than that. It was simpler than  
everything Ranma had been exposed to lately. There was no  
confusion in the chase, or the battle that would inevitably  
followed. It felt good to be running, even if Ranma was out of  
shape.  
  
At the top of the stairs, she kicked the locked door open  
that hid them. The photographer, clad all in black, was running  
directly towards her, his camera held out in front of him. His  
head was turned, and he was looking back behind him, probably for  
Kodachi.  
  
"BOO!" Ranma yelled, leaping out at him.  
  
He screamed like a little girl and dropped his camera. He  
fell backwards, and scrambled away from her in terror.  
  
The camera hit the floor at Ranma's feet and shattered.  
She was too stunned to move out of the way, however. She was too  
numb to notice the sting as a shard of the broken lens nicked her  
leg just below her knee.  
  
The man in front of her wore the white collar of a  
Catholic priest.  
  
Kodachi appeared in the hallway before Ranma recovered.  
She vaulted the banister easily and threw herself at their  
stalker.  
  
"Wait, Kodachi!"  
  
It was too late. The sight of the man's ecclesiastical  
garb seemed to ignite the gymnast. She was upon him before Ranma  
could stop her. She screamed in anger and rage. Abandoning her  
ribbon, she balled her fists and began to rain down blow after  
blow on the man's unprotected face. He screamed in agony as  
Kodachi pummeled him.  
  
"Stop, Kodachi!"  
  
In the distance, Ranma could see Kasumi running up with  
both the priest who had conducted the ceremony earlier and a much  
younger priest. Also with them was a burly man in a grease-smeared  
coverall.  
  
"Kunou-san!" The older priest yelled. "Stop at once! Your  
behavior is an offense to God and our holy mother!"  
  
"My behavior!?" Kodachi screeched, her eyes dilated and  
her nostrils flaring in outrage. "What about his behavior?" she  
demanded. "Is the church in the business of letting its priests  
prey on young girls? Tell me who is more offensive in the eyes of  
God, Father Nagisa!"  
  
Ranma winced back away from the exchange. If she  
remembered the story she overheard Kunou recounting correctly, it  
had been a priest who had stalked Kodachi. She could see the pain  
and anger on Kodachi's face. This was no doubt very hard on her.  
  
"Stop, Kodachi," she said, grabbing the gymnast's arm.  
"There are better ways to deal with this."  
  
"Indeed," Father Nagisa said, looking down at the cringing  
priest on the floor. "I thought it might have been you, Chietsu. I  
tried to warn you to repent, but now you've brought the wrath of  
God down on yourself."  
  
"What will be done to this wretch?" Kodachi demanded.  
  
"Don't Judge, Kodachi-chan," the priest said calmly. "That  
is the duty of God alone."  
  
"You ain't just gonna let him go?" Ranma said in  
disbelief.  
  
"Indeed we're not. If I'm a man of God, I have to stop  
this sort of thing at the root."  
  
"I've already contacted the police," the younger priest  
said sadly. "They'll be here in a few minutes."  
  
"Good," Ranma said vehemently.  
  
Behind her, Kasumi knelt down and pulled the ruined film  
out of the remains of the camera. She took it back to the  
sanctuary and pulled the candle she had lit earlier out of its  
place. Determinedly, she set the film afire.  
  
* * *  
  
Afterwards, Ranma watched Kodachi leap and dodge around  
the courtyard behind the church. The gymnast girl was hooting and  
crowing. Her ribbon snapped out at tree branches and rocks.  
Eventually, laughing her mad, roaring laugh, she scaled the side  
of the building, apparently burning off all the nervous energy she  
accumulated during the fight. Once on top, she began to do a  
balance beam exercise on the ridge-row of the church's roof.  
  
Ranma sighed, and wondered about the things she had seen.  
Everything seemed so simple during the chase, but then got  
hideously complex again once it was over. She couldn't help but  
wonder how Kasumi could find peace and happiness in the same place  
that generated abusive people like the stalker they had caught.  
  
"You look upset, Miss."  
  
Ranma spun on her toes to face a man standing several feet  
away from her. He was carrying an old, straw broom, and was slowly  
sweeping the walk in front of him. She stared curiously at the  
man. He was tall and broad-shouldered, with the alien features of  
an American, but was smiling broadly at her. She stared at the  
incongruity of the Hawaiian shirt he was wearing with the dark-  
colored jeans and tennis shoes.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"You don't look very happy," he said in accented Japanese.  
"Did you hear something that upset you?"  
  
"You could say that," Ranma hinted.  
  
The man chuckled. Ranma wondered if the person just  
enjoyed irritating others.  
  
"What are you doing here?" she asked.  
  
"Me?" The man paused, leaning on his broom. "Just helping  
the old priest out. It's a good place to volunteer my time, and  
there's not a lot of weeds to trigger my allergies. It's one of  
the few places in this city that I feel like I can see nature and  
not be miserable at the same time. I'm not Catholic, if that's  
what you mean."  
  
Ranma boggled, unsure of the individual's motives. Why  
would he be here if he wasn't Catholic? "Why not, if you don't  
mind my asking?"  
  
"People do funny things in the name of religion," the man  
said. "Worse, they presume to speak for God. The Catholics in  
particular have some funny ideas about morality that I just don't  
agree with. Still, that doesn't mean they're all bad, or that they  
don't do good things."  
  
"It's funny you should say that," Ranma noted. "I'm  
starting to wonder about morality."  
  
"I understand you had some excitement earlier. You're one  
of the girls who caught the guy who was taking certain pictures?"  
  
Ranma nodded. "But he was a priest! How could.... Why  
did... I don't understand anything anymore. I don't even  
understand why do everything they do or why they have pictures of  
that guy who got crucified everywhere. This is a really messed-up  
religion."  
  
The man paused and shifted his broom around. He smiled  
broadly at the girl.  
  
"Don't let the actions of one or two men take your eyes  
off what really goes on here," he said. "It's difficult to  
understand, but remember that this church isn't just a few priests  
or pictures of 'crucified people'. In other churches, in other  
parts of the world, they do things differently. Look there," he  
said, pointing towards Kasumi and that sad-looking young priest as  
they came out the door of the building. The two were talking and,  
if anything, it looked like Kasumi was cheering the young man up  
after such a traumatic experience. "That's what the church really  
is," the odd man said. "It's people coming together to help each  
other, or learn, or worship."  
  
"I think I understand," Ranma said after several seconds.  
  
"You know that guy they hung on the cross?" the man in the  
Hawaiian shirt asked. "He had the same idea. Christians believe  
that he is their savior because he tried to help everyone in the  
world. He was tempted with every kind of evil known to man, and  
then he sacrificed his life in order to atone for everyone else  
who did or ever would commit one of those evils."  
  
"He was even tempted with taking pictures of pretty  
girls?" Ranma asked derisively.  
  
The man chuckled. "It's different depending on who you  
ask, but one of his closest friends was a prostitute. I imagine  
that he was tempted with lust more intensely than your perverted  
photographer was. They made a movie about that a little while  
back. It had a great soundtrack." He paused for a second, staring  
up at the clouds. "Personally, I think it's a bit ridiculous to  
spend so much time thinking about how he died because the really  
important thing about him was the way he lived."  
  
Ranma started a little bit at the statement.  
  
"So you go to church?" she asked after several seconds.  
  
"Absolutely not! I can barely stand the places. That  
doesn't mean I don't worship in my own way. Everybody worships in  
their own way. Maybe this kind of worship isn't for you. Don't  
give up on understanding it just because one guy acted like an  
asshole."  
  
"I'll think about that," Ranma said.  
  
The main smiled and started to sweep again. He began to  
whistle a horrid, off-key tune.  
  
Ranma walked away, intent on catching up with Kasumi, and  
maybe checking on Kodachi.  
  
For some reason, she suddenly felt really content. The  
world was no less confusing, but Ranma suddenly understood that at  
least in some small way, today she had helped make it a better  
place.  
  
-----  
  
~ to be continued....  
  
Please remember that my characters are strictly fictional. I'm not  
trying to bash the Catholic church, or any other church for that  
matter. It may be a priest who is stalking the girls, but let's  
not forget that I've also made both Kasumi and Kodachi devout  
Catholics in this story. 


	15. Kissing

Ranma and his friends belong to Rumiko Takahashi. They're used  
here without permission.  
  
This story contains some adult material. Reader discretion is  
advised.  
  
------------------------------  
newRanma 15: Kissing  
  
by Chris Jones  
------------------------------  
  
In grainy, faded color, the film began to play.  
  
It was shot inside a featureless white room. Around the  
room, there were many young children. A good portion of them were  
wearing worn-out clothing and none looked too clean, especially in  
the poor contrast of the aged eight-millimeter film. There was no  
sound to accompany the picture, but Tatewaki Kunou needed no  
audio. He could hear the voices almost as clearly if he was there.  
  
The picture panned until it came to rest on a beautiful  
woman in a long, flowing kimono. She had short, curly hair and a  
loving smile. At her side were two young children, a boy of about  
five years old and a girl of three or four. Kunou couldn't help  
but notice that they were dressed much better and were probably  
cleaner than the other children in the room. They looked much less  
comfortable, but most children are uneasy in any sort of formal  
clothing.  
  
The beautiful woman with short, curly hair knelt down on  
the floor, holding her two children close to her, one loving arm  
around each of their shoulders. The camera lingered on the trio  
but eventually made its way to the front of the room where it  
focused on a middle-aged man who was dressed in an extravagant  
tuxdeo. After a few minutes of soundless speech, as recorded on  
the old film, he pulled a dove out of his sleeve. Then he began to  
produce handkerchiefs from his nose.  
  
The camera panned briefly to the children. The little girl  
was howling with laughter and glee, but the little boy stared at  
the stage as if in shock. His face was a picture of disbelief.  
  
Back up at the front of the featureless room, the magician  
held his hands out, calling for volunteers. Kunou heard the man's  
rich, melodious baritone in his mind's ear and felt the gentle  
nudge on the back of his arm.  
  
The boy in the film raised his hand, looking back at his  
mother to see why she had poked him. The magician pounced upon him  
and led him to the front of the room by the hand.  
  
With a little bit of fear on his face, the little boy  
watched the magician tie a complicated-looking knot in a piece of  
white rope. Then he handed the rope to the little boy and gestured  
to the audience.  
  
With his hands on either end of the short rope, the little  
boy pulled to demonstrate to the audience that yes, indeed, the  
knot was solid.  
  
Then the magician put his hands around the knot and  
shouted his magical words. When his hands came away, the knot was  
gone and the rope was suddenly slack.  
  
The little boy stared in amazement, examining the rope. He  
pulled it again, unbelieving. He couldn't understanding how  
something so magical could have happened right in front of his  
eyes.  
  
The film continued for some time. Many, but not all of the  
children in the audience got to volunteer to take part in the  
illusionist's show. Each of the man's stunts were painfully  
visible. His tuxedo-jacket was crawling with mice and birds. His  
pockets were full of playing cards and foam balls. After the film  
ended, Kunou rewound it and started it playing again. As he neared  
adulthood, Kunou had no trouble understanding how each and every  
one of the magical tricks was performed... except for that  
wondrous rope illusion.  
  
Kunou remembered that after the magic show, but not in the  
film, the little boy cried into his mother's lap in confusion. She  
held him closely, and told him that it was just a trick. Then she  
kissed his cheek. For some reason, that motherly token of  
affection stood out in his mind.  
  
A single tear coursed down his face.  
  
Kunou tensed as he heard footsteps. He turned around to  
see Kodachi standing in the doorway behind him and his projector.  
Her normally lustrous, full hair was in disarray and her eyes  
lacked the dark makeup with which she usually decorated them.  
Kunou's eyes shied away from the fact that the silk negligee she  
was wearing was indecently short, and altogether more translucent  
than he was comfortable with.  
  
"Have you been watching that forsaken film all night?"  
Kodachi asked in irritation.  
  
Kunou wiped his moist eyes. "I... I still cannot  
understand how the rope illusion works," he admitted feebly.  
  
"Mother only explained it to you a dozen times," Kodachi  
said. "Have you really been up all night?"  
  
"I couldn't sleep," Kunou admitted.  
  
"Dreaming about your pigtailed wench again, no doubt."  
  
Kunou's face darkened, but the usually eloquent young man  
had no response to his sister's words.  
  
"She hates you, brother," Kodachi said. "I've heard the  
words from her own lips. She's sickened by your twisted  
affections. For the sake of God, leave her alone."  
  
* * *  
  
The next few days after the incident at Kasumi's church  
were tense for Ranma. Life resumed its normal course, but neither  
Ukyou nor Akane wanted anything to do with her. Ranma was grumpy  
about it,since she really didn't feel like it was her fault.  
  
Well, mostly not her fault. She may have been kissing back  
when Nabiki jumped on her, but Akane and Ukyou had both really  
overreacted. At least Ranma thought so.  
  
After several days, both girls finally quit glaring at her  
nearly so much. By that Friday, Ukyou was making lunch for her  
again, and Akane was speaking to her once more. In Akane's case,  
it probably helped that Ranma was avoiding Nabiki so thoroughly.  
  
That weekend Ranma decided to try to smooth things over  
with all her friends. She had a really great time the weekend  
before when she had been invited to Hiroshi's house for a movie  
marathon. Both Ranma's parents and the Tendous' father were still  
gone on their respective trips so Ranma had a certain leeway in  
planning a similar event. When she suggested having a get together  
of some-kind, both Nabiki and Akane agreed that it would be a  
great idea.  
  
"But there will be boys *and* girls here, Ranma!" Kasumi  
said in exasperation when she heard about the plan. "You mustn't!  
You remember what we talked about, don't you?"  
  
"Sure I do. You'll be here, though. You can chaperone,  
right?"  
  
"Ranma..."  
  
"Please, Kasumi?" Ranma pleaded, putting on her best 'cute  
as a thousand kittens' look.  
  
"Oh, come on, Kasumi," Nabiki chided her sister from  
across the room. "Don't be a such a stick in the mud. Live a  
little."  
  
"It will be fun!" Akane said. The last of her grudge  
against Ranma seemed to have faded with the red-head's suggestion.  
  
"Well..."  
  
"If you're worried about... *consequences*," Nabiki said  
in a naughty tone, "I can always stop by the junior college clinic  
and pick up some condoms."  
  
"Nabiki!" Kasumi gasped, her hands going to her mouth in  
horror.  
  
"They give them away free to students," Nabiki explained.  
  
"Absolutely not!" Kasumi screeched. Ranma had never heard  
her use quite that same tone before.  
  
"She's just kidding, Kasumi!" Ranma assured her. Well, she  
hoped Nabiki was just kidding. It was hard to tell with Nabiki any  
more. "I don't think anything like that will happen if you're  
here."  
  
It took some time, but eventually the three girls  
persuaded Kasumi that there would be no 'misbehavior' of any kind  
at any party they threw.  
  
Saturday was a half-day at school, so Ranma took the  
opportunity to tell all her friends to come over. Hiroshi and  
Daisuke both agreed readily. Ukyou was hesitant, since she would  
be losing her Saturday-night business, but agreed to come anyway.  
Akane told her that she had invited Sayuri and Yuka. Ranma nodded  
happily. Everything was coming together!  
  
After classes let out for lunch, Ranma sprinted upstairs  
to Nabiki's classroom.  
  
"Do you mind if Taiyoko comes?" Nabiki asked.  
  
"No, that would be great. I was going to invite Kunou,  
but..." she trailed off, glancing at his empty seat.  
  
"He called in sick today. You can probably still get him  
at home, but are you sure you want to do that?"  
  
"I'm still trying to decide, honestly. I'd rather not have  
him act like he has for the last couple weeks, but if he acts like  
he's going to start pawing me again, I'd rather not deal with him  
at all."  
  
* * *  
  
Kunou didn't look very sick. A little sleepy, perhaps, but  
scarily competent and alert as he sliced a practice dummy into  
fine ribbons.  
  
Ranma was perched high in a tree behind the Kunou mansion  
watching the kendoist practice. She was going to jump down and  
tell him about the event she had planned, but watching his kendo  
forms melt into more chaotic, destructive attacks was almost  
hypnotizing. He had improved in the weeks since Ranma's surgery.  
She had to admit that much.  
  
Suddenly, a large rock, about head-sized, came whizzing  
out of the brush at Kunou's unprotected back. Ranma was about to  
yell out to the kendoist, but he turned and batted the stone aside  
with his bokken. Ranma had to duck as pieces of the stone came  
whizzing up through the foliage toward her tree.  
  
Wordlessly, Kunou advanced on the shrubbery that had  
attacked him. She slashed viciously at it, dislodging his sister.  
Kodachi lashed out at Kunou with her ribbon and followed with a  
barrage of gymnastics clubs, each of which he knocked aside or cut  
into pieces with his lightning-fast bokken.  
  
Ranma watched the two spar for some time. Their attacks  
were brutal and deadly, but she sensed that they really were just  
sparring and not dueling to the death.  
  
Kodachi pressed her brother hard, using most of the dirty  
tricks in the book. Worse, Kunou fell for most of them, leaving  
himself almost entirely open to her tricks. Only his endurance for  
punishment saved him, eventually allowing him to overpower his  
sister.  
  
In what Ranma thought was a rare move for him, he swung  
low, feinting at Kodachi's legs. The gymnast leapt automatically,  
taking advantage of Kunou's apparent lack of defense.  
  
The Kendoist soaked up the blows she dealt out with her  
clubs, but was already in process of swinging one extended leg  
across her trajectory. He swept her feet out from under her just  
before she landed, knocking her on her ass. With a whip-like  
motion, he brought his bokken to bear, lifting her chin with it.  
  
Kodachi froze, apparently unsure of how to proceed.  
  
"Do you yield?" Kunou asked, his breath coming quickly.  
  
There was no answer from Kodachi but the girl instead  
directed a fleeting glance towards Ranma's tree. "Did you enjoy  
our show, pigtailed-girl?" she called out. "Did our antics amuse  
you?"  
  
"The pigtailed girl?" Kunou said, lowering his weapon and  
looking around him. "Where?"  
  
Still lying on her back, Kodachi took advantage of her  
brother's distraction and swept his legs out from underneath him.  
He fell with a grunt, and rolled.  
  
Ranma rolled her eyes and leapt down from the tree.  
  
"Hey..."  
  
"It is most... *wheeze*.... kind of you to visit me,  
Pigtailed-girl," Kunou greeted her, staggering to his feet.  
  
"You two do that all the time?" she asked.  
  
"Attack each other for no reason whatsoever?" Kodachi  
replied. "I sometimes get bored in this horrible house. It keeps  
my idiot brother on his toes if nothing else."  
  
"Would that I could send you away, or that you would board  
at that forsaken school of yours," Kunou said. "Then I could  
concentrate fully on my studies... and winning the heart of my  
love."  
  
"Would that my Ranma-sama finally put you out of my  
misery, Brother."  
  
"Please, please, please, let's not go there today, Kunou,"  
Ranma groaned. Then she thought up another tactic. "You don't want  
to me to be upset again, do you?" she asked in a threatening tone.  
  
Kunou paled while Kodachi snickered into her hand.  
  
"Seriously," Ranma said. "I was planning to get all my  
friends together tonight and watch movies or something. You two  
can come if you won't attack the other guests."  
  
"I would be honored to come!" Kunou said, dropping to his  
knees, but not grabbing Ranma's hands.  
  
"You keep your hands to yourself, then," Ranma warned.  
"And you," she gestured to Kodachi, "You can leave all your  
powders and sleep gas and stuff at home."  
  
After Ranma left, Kodachi put a finger to her chin in  
thought. "The pigtailed girl considers me a friend?"  
  
* * *  
  
People started showing up around four in the afternoon.  
Ranma had already discussed the situation with Hiroshi, and found  
that the boy's parents had given him a new DVD player upon their  
return from their trip. Together, the two rented several movies  
they thought the people Ranma invited would enjoy. They started an  
action-comedy movie playing on the Tendou's TV. Daisuke also  
brought over a few of his own discs.  
  
He also brought over Saya, the girl he had met when he  
stayed the weekend at Hiroshi's house. According to Hiroshi, the  
two had spent quite a bit of time together of the last week. The  
girl was nervous, apparently having been informed about the  
violent things that tended to happen around Ranma and his friends.  
She kept a tight grip on Daisuke's hand.  
  
Daisuke kept a firm grip on her shoulder with his other  
hand. Occasionally, it became a firm grip on her waist, or even  
her hip, at least up until Kasumi started to scowl darkly at the  
both of them.  
  
Akane's friends, Sayuri and Yuka, both came with snacks.  
So did Ukyou, who also had her portable grill strapped to her  
back. Ranma's mouth watered at the thought of so much Okonomiyaki.  
Taiyoko showed up, nervous as always, and stammered at Daisuke for  
almost a minute before Ranma took her by the hand and led her  
inside the house. She greeted the Tendou girls warmly. Finally,  
Kunou and Kodachi both arrived, obviously a little unsure of how  
to behave.  
  
Ranma was ready for this, however, and set them down near  
the television with sodas and paper plates full of snacks. It was  
something that would keep Ranma occupied, so she reasoned it had a  
fairly good chance of distracting the siblings as well.  
  
After the first movie ended, Daisuke pulled out a copy of  
a sci-fi action-adventure film that had been very popular a few  
years ago. Ranma hadn't seen it before, and was really impressed  
with the martial arts choreography. The acting was a little  
wooden, but the quick-paced story and computer-aided special  
effects more than made up for it. Ranma wasn't the only one who  
was enthralled with it, since she noted that both Akane's and  
Kodachi's fists started to clench up every time the female lead in  
the movie started to fight. Kunou also started to shout  
encouragements to the protagonist.  
  
Ukyou was busy whipping out custom okonomiyaki the whole  
time. She seemed only marginally interested in the movie, but was  
watching it out of the corner of her eye while she cooked.  
  
After the climax played and the credits started to roll,  
Sayuri pulled a disc out of her bag. "Okay! It's our turn now,  
guys!" The disc she had produced contained a syrupy romance anime.  
After just a few minutes into the show, Hiroshi and Daisuke had  
filtered out of the main room, out into the back yard. They took  
up positions near the Tendou's koi pond.  
  
Kunou followed them after just a few seconds. Ranma gave  
up on getting into the slow-moving show after not much longer, and  
decided to join them.  
  
"So, Ranma," Hiroshi asked. "Do you think our dear, dear  
friend Daisuke is going to get his ass kicked for dating a junior-  
high school girl?"  
  
"She's fifteen!" Daisuke protested. "And she'll be  
transferring to Furinkan next year anyway."  
  
"Well, it's only about two year's difference," Ranma said.  
  
"Is it truly a problem of magnitude?" Kunou asked. "My  
father and mother were wed with almost a decade of difference in  
their ages."  
  
"And how old was your mom when they got married, Kunou-  
sempai?"  
  
"Seventeen years."  
  
"Well, we knew the principal was a pervert," Daisuke said.  
  
"It was an arranged marriage," Kunou noted, but not really  
in any kind of defense. "She did seem to truly love him, but love  
does blind people some people."  
  
"Don't even talk to me about arranged marriages," Ranma  
said. "Sometimes I think that my pops and Akane's dad were on  
drugs when they decided we should get married."  
  
Kunou looked at her with a troubled expression, but held  
his tongue.  
  
"Well, Saya-chan hasn't told her parents yet, but I think  
they'll be okay with it."  
  
"Oh, she's 'Saya-chan' now,' Hiroshi observed.  
  
"So what do Saya-chan's parents do," Ranma asked  
curiously.  
  
"Her mom teaches first grade, and her dad's a cop."  
  
Hiroshi almost doubled over with laughter. "Not only is  
Daisuke going to get his ass whipped, he's going to get arrested  
afterwards!"  
  
"Cut it out, dammit!"  
  
"In all seriousness," Kunou advised him, "your age  
difference will probably not cause problems for the two of you. It  
is only when the difference is extreme or one of the parties  
involved is still not considered an adult that problems start to  
arise."  
  
"Kunou's right," Hiroshi said. "We're messin' around with  
you and all, but you're pretty lucky to have snatched a girl that  
cute. You better hope Ranma doesn't steal her!"  
  
"You wouldn't, would you, Ranma?"  
  
Again, there a pained look from Kunou, as if he believed  
everyone around him was making a fool out of themselves.  
  
"I have more woman problems than I can possibly deal  
with," Ranma noted sadly. "Just tell her to avoid pigtailed  
martial artists and you should be okay."  
  
The boys went back inside when they heard a knock at the  
door.  
  
Ranma was still halfway expecting Shampoo to show up and  
thought she smelled ramen. When she and Kasumi opened the door,  
however, she was disappointed to see that it was a different  
Chinese girl waiting for them. She was wearing a Nekohanten tee-  
shirt and short silk pants. She was slender, but had the casual  
grace of a warrior. Ranma realized that she was probably another  
Joketsuzoku girl.  
  
"Nihao! This Saotome House?" she asked in atrocious  
Japanese.  
  
"It's the Tendou house, but I'm Ranma Saotome."  
  
"You Ranma? Goodgood! Shampoo-sister give!" The girl  
handed the tray of ramen take-out she was carrying over to Ranma.  
Ranma staggered, trying to keep her balance, and walked the tray  
inside to set it down in the kitchen. When she made it back to the  
front door, the delivery girl was already a dust-cloud a hundred  
meters down the street.  
  
"She left this for you," Kasumi said, handing over a plain  
envelope.  
  
Ranma opened it and peeked inside.  
  
"Ranma," the short letter read, "I really wanted to be  
with you tonight, but I just couldn't get away from my  
responsibilities. I hope you enjoy the ramen I sent. Love always,  
Shampoo."  
  
Shampoo had responsibilities? Responsibilities that were  
more important that being with Ranma?  
  
Ranma was surprised and more than a little hurt. Still,  
there were several dozen bowls of ramen to be considered. She  
tried not to let it get to her.  
  
The shoujo anime was just ending, so she and the rest of  
her friends ate ramen while 'Drunken Monkey Master 5' played.  
There were compliments on the ramen all around, and even a few  
indications that it was a shame that Shampoo couldn't have come.  
  
About halfway into the movie, Ranma and Taiyoko started to  
chat.  
  
"You havin' fun?"  
  
"Oh, yes!" Taiyoko answered, tearing her attention away  
from the movie. "I was really happy when Nabiki asked me to come."  
  
"Really? I figured your parents would have been really  
tense about it."  
  
Taiyoko blushed slightly. "Well... actually, t-they seemed  
to think going to a boy-girl party was a good idea."  
  
"Ah..."  
  
After the movie, Nabiki suggested getting the Monopoly  
board out again. It was one of her favorite games after all.  
  
"That sounds like fun," Taiyoko said.  
  
"Ohnononononono!" Ranma shouted. "Let's not get into that  
again."  
  
Everyone stared at her with curiosity or worry.  
  
"What?"  
  
"What about Charades?" Akane suggested.  
  
Everyone glared at her darkly.  
  
"That's never a good idea, Akane," Ranma said.  
  
"I brought a trivia game," Ukyou announced. "Is anyone  
interested?"  
  
The trivia game was a good compromise. Ranma did  
miserably, but not a lot worse than most of the other players.  
Kodachi did well in 'Arts and Entertainment' questions and Hiroshi  
did particularly well in sports trivia. Kasumi, Nabiki, and Kunou  
led the game. Surprisingly, Kunou was in first place, simply on  
the merit of the sheer number of history questions he answered  
correctly.  
  
"So that's what you keep up there," Nabiki kidded the  
kendoist.  
  
Ranma smiled. Despite her almost definite last-place  
finish, she was having a great deal of fun.  
  
Kunou was about to win when Sayuri decided to try to stump  
him with an "Arts and Entertainment" question. She pulled the card  
out of the deck and began to read. "Which action veteran directed  
'Run, Tiger, Run', 'Hard Boiled', and 'Broken Arrow'."  
  
Kunou pondered the question for several seconds. "John  
Woo," he announced.  
  
Ranma blinked. She wasn't sure, but she had seen 'Hard  
Boiled' at Hiroshi's house and thought that Kunou might have been  
right.  
  
Sayuri nodded, a look of shock on her face. "He's right.  
Kunou-sempai wins."  
  
"'Twas but a lucky guess," he admitted. "John Woo is the  
only action director whose name I know."  
  
Since Kunou won, they let him pick the next movie. He  
chose what Ranma thought was a boring movie upon first inspection,  
but turned out to be a political thriller with a large amount of  
action involved. The plot was convoluted, and sometimes hard to  
follow, but the actions scenes were fluid and well directed. Her  
attention wandered, however, when Kunou started to shift his seat  
so that he was sitting directly behind her.  
  
Grimacing, Ranma announced that she was going to fetch  
some more snacks. When she came back in, she made sure to give  
Kunou a wide berth.  
  
It was getting pretty late by this point. Ranma noticed  
that Taiyoko had dozed off, her head leaning against Nabiki's  
shoulder. Kasumi was also starting to doze. She started awake  
every few seconds, but was not paying very good attention to  
anything around her.  
  
Out of the corner of her eye, Ranma saw Daisuke gesture  
towards his new girlfriend. He winked, and pointed out the open  
shoji to the darkened area of the yard towards the back of the  
dojo.  
  
Taking his cue, Saya yawned and stretched. "Wow, I'm  
sleepy. I need some fresh air."  
  
"I'll come with you," Daisuke said in a tone that was  
almost entirely unbelievable. He glanced once at Kasumi to make  
sure she was still out of it. He had already gotten in trouble a  
few times, and didn't want to repeat the experience. He and Saya  
got up and wandered out into the darkness. They disappeared behind  
the dojo.  
  
"Wow," Ranma whispered under her breath. "Kasumi was  
right!"  
  
Kunou was also starting to wear down as the movie built to  
its climax. He stretched and rolled his head from side to side,  
yawning deeply.  
  
He put his arms back down, but accidentally reached far  
enough to hit Ranma's soda. He sent it spinning, dumping most of  
its contents in her lap.  
  
"Wonderful." Ranma stood, trying to estimate the damage.  
She sighed. The wet splotches on her pants made it look like she  
had wet herself.  
  
"By the gods, Pigtailed-girl! I'm dreadfully sorry!" Kunou  
stood, and approached her, as if to help, but paused at the last  
second. His expression was uncertain, and he looked up at Ranma  
with a mixture of concern, embarrassment, and fear. Ranma realized  
that he was still afraid to touch her.  
  
It was irritating, but at the same time, she really didn't  
want him touching her.  
  
"It's okay, Kunou. Don't worry about it. I'll go rinse off  
and get changed. Sheesh, you think being stuck as a girl for three  
months would mean I wasn't nearly such a water magnet, but no...."  
Ranma rolled her eyes and ran upstairs to get some spare clothes.  
She went back down to the furo and started to strip.  
  
She was down to her panties when the door opened behind  
her.  
  
"Dammit, Kunou! Are you trying to convince me to start  
kicking your ass again?"  
  
"Why, Ranma, what a thing to say to me!" It was Nabiki and  
she was wearing only slightly more than Ranma was.  
  
The redhead gulped, seeing the brown-haired girl advance  
on her in only her bra and a pair of panties.  
  
"What are you doing here?" she demanded.  
  
"You looked so uncomfortable," Nabiki noted. "I thought  
I'd help you change."  
  
Ranma was frozen once again. Part of her mind was  
calculating how to get out of the room without making it evident  
that she and Nabiki were so close together in such a flagrant  
state. A much larger part of her mind was locked very firmly on  
the firm swell of Nabiki's breasts and the way they seemed to fill  
the girl's brassiere so perfectly.  
  
"Eeep..."  
  
"You like?" Nabiki asked.  
  
As the girl's bra hit the floor, Ranma hastily amended her  
thoughts to focus on how bouncy and pert Nabiki's naked breasts  
were, and how firm and erect her nipples appeared to be.  
  
"Oh man... oh man... Kasumi was right. We shouldn't--"  
  
"Shouldn't do what, Ranma?" the girl asked. "Surely my  
prudish older sister isn't making a big deal out of a close  
friendship between two girls, is she?"  
  
"How close?" Ranma asked, her teeth beginning to chatter.  
  
Nabiki closed the distance between them, and put her hands  
on the wall on either side of Ranma, trapping her. Slowly...  
almost painfully slowly, Nabiki leaned against Ranma, pressing her  
breasts against the redhead's. Ranma could feel the hard points of  
Nabiki's nipples dragging across her own naked flesh.  
  
"Close enough," Nabiki answered.  
  
"Nabiki... we really shouldn't--"  
  
"Shut up, Ranma. Less talk, more action."  
  
With that, Nabiki leaned her head in close to Ranma's.  
Ranma didn't resist. In fact, she responded, eagerly opening her  
mouth to accept Nabiki's. Once again, the girl's tongue began to  
probe against her own.  
  
Ranma's cares and worries quickly began to evaporate. Her  
world turned the same rosy pink shade it had the last time Nabiki  
kissed her.  
  
She felt Nabiki's flesh under her fingertips, and realized  
that her own arms had wrapped around the taller girl's waist. The  
palms of her hands were against Nabiki's back. One was so low that  
Ranma could feel the top of her satin panties.  
  
"Heavens, Ranma," Nabiki noted in a quiet, husky voice.  
"Your panties are soaked straight through."  
  
"Kunou spilled soda on me," Ranma explained lamely. She  
was fairly certain that everyone in the room who was still awake  
had seen that.  
  
She gasped out loud when Nabiki hooked her thumbs into the  
elastic band of Ranma's cotton panties and pulled them down over  
her hips. Her whole body was shaking but she didn't make any move  
to stop Nabiki from sliding the panties down over her thighs. They  
fell limply around her ankles.  
  
"Much better," Nabiki noted. She leaned up against Ranma,  
pressing the redhead's naked back against the cold tile wall.  
Forcefully, Nabiki ground her hips into Ranma's. She could feel  
the brown-haired girl's satin panties crushing up against her  
thin, red delta, compressing the hair against her skin. Her entire  
front side was incredibly warm. The other side was cold from being  
pressed against the wall. Ranma did her best to keep from groaning  
at the powerful sensation. It was easier once Nabiki began to suck  
on her lips once again.  
  
Her left hand slid sinuously up Ranma's side. With  
feather-light touches, she began to toy with the sensitive surface  
of Ranma's breast. Her fingertips orbited around the lower swell  
of Ranma's breast, sending a cascade of lightning down the  
pigtailed-girl's spine.  
  
Ranma moaned into Nabiki's mouth, but the taller girl did  
not break the kiss. Instead, her fingers began to play across  
Ranma's erect nipple. The sensations were intense. Ranma found  
herself suddenly grounding her hips back against Nabiki's.  
  
As Ranma's bucking intensified, Nabiki's right hand slid  
down Ranma's other side and in between them.  
  
Ranma's eyes opened wide as Nabiki began to gently probe  
at her folds.  
  
It apparently took a few seconds before the girl holding  
her so closely was sure of what she was doing, but when she was  
sure, she began to gently slide her finger between Ranma's folds.  
  
The touch was like lightning. It felt more intense than  
when Ranma touched herself. It was almost more than she could  
stand.  
  
Ranma realized that she was quite damp between the legs,  
and that Nabiki's motions were doing nothing to stop that. Really,  
she didn't care. She just wanted to make sure that Nabiki never,  
ever stopped touching her. Ranma bucked harder, trying to  
encourage her.  
  
Nabiki broke their passionate kiss. "Take my panties off,"  
she commanded.  
  
Ranma glanced down, her fingers already sliding into the  
waist of Nabiki's panties...  
  
Polka-dot panties.  
  
The pattern of the satin fabric hadn't really registered  
in Ranma's mind before. For some reason, it stood out very clearly  
all the sudden.  
  
Ranma remembered one of the very first times she, he at  
the time, had fought Kunou. Ranma rolled with one of Kunou's  
blows, landing on the ground in front of Akane. He could clearly  
see up the girl's skirt, and made a rude, stupid comment about her  
polka-dot panties... panties that looked almost, but not exactly  
like the ones Ranma was about to pull down over Nabiki's hips.  
  
She was shaking like an off-balanced washing machine now,  
but suddenly she couldn't help but think how close Akane was to  
where she was. The girl could walk in at any second to see what  
was keeping Ranma. So, for that matter, could Ukyou, Kodachi, or  
even Kasumi. There would be no shrugging off or eventual  
forgiveness for what Ranma was engaged in.  
  
Ranma suddenly knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that if she  
pulled off Nabiki's panties that they were going to have sex. Not  
that they weren't doing something pretty close to that already,  
but it would be... irreversible. She would have tossed her  
engagements to the wind. She would have completely and irrevocably  
abandoned Akane and Ukyou both, not to mention Shampoo and  
Kodachi.  
  
She would lose her virginity.  
  
As a girl.  
  
Still shaking, Ranma pulled her hands back up to her chest  
and pushed Nabiki away from her.  
  
"What?!" Nabiki demanded in surprise and growing outrage.  
  
"Just... I can't do this..."  
  
"Why not?" Nabiki asked angrily. "Don't you want--"  
  
"Of course I want to!" Ranma said. "More than anything  
else in the world right now. I want to keep on doing exactly what  
we were doing."  
  
"Then why don't you?"  
  
"Because if I do... then everything will happen at once,"  
Ranma said. She was having a hard time trying to keep from crying  
in frustration. "I'll lose everything!"  
  
"But you'll be getting me," Nabiki protested, leaning  
against Ranma again, and trying to caress the shorter girl's face.  
  
"Please... please don't do this to me, Nabiki."  
  
Nabiki's eyes narrowed, her fury growing.  
  
Not able to face the young woman, Ranma pushed her way  
free and ran out of the bathroom.  
  
She grabbed her spare clothes, and vaulted onto the  
stairway so that no one could see her nakedness. Ranma ran into  
her room and quickly pulled her clothes on. She tried to will the  
shaking to stop, but it just wouldn't.  
  
By the time she made it back downstairs, Nabiki was gone  
from the bathroom. She was nowhere to be seen.  
  
She walked back into the main room to see that most  
everyone was dozing in one manner or another. She happened to  
glance at Kunou, who had fallen asleep in front of the television.  
His sister was curled up in front of him, her face nuzzled into  
his chest. It was an incredible contrast to their antagonism  
earlier in the day, but the odd appearance of intimacy between the  
two only made the feelings churning inside Ranma's body worse.  
  
Kasumi set up in her chair, her eyes wide and staring, but  
apparently not seeing anything.  
  
"Oh my! It's almost one," she said in a sleepy, dreamy  
voice. "I can't stay awake any longer. Everyone has to leave now,"  
she cooed in a sing-song tone.  
  
Ranma noticed that Daisuke and Saya were still nowhere to  
be seen.  
  
"Mmm..." Hiroshi seconded. "Yeah, I better get home. Let  
me unplug the video player..."  
  
Ukyou started to stir. She looked up and smiled broadly.  
"I shouldn't have stayed up this late anyway. I have to open the  
shop early."  
  
Ranma suddenly remembered what happened the last time, and  
turned away from Ukyou. She wiped at her lips with her sleeve and  
came away with Nabiki's lipstick. Luckily, Ukyou and everyone else  
was still too asleep to notice.  
  
Nabiki suddenly came down the stairs, dressed very nicely.  
She was wearing a short dress and heeled pumps. Ranma wondered if  
she was still wearing polka-dot panties. She stopped wondering  
when she saw the killing glare Nabiki directed at her.  
  
"I'll walk Taiyoko home. She has a long trip and doesn't  
need to make it alone this late at night," she announced.  
  
"Thank you, Nabiki-san!" Taiyoko said, getting to her  
feet.  
  
"Verily, 'twas nothing fair maiden," Kunou said sleepily  
as he sat up, apparently trying to include himself in the  
conversation. "Only the house Kunou has such lemon drops to sakura  
gasoline. Can I see the rope trick again, Mother?"  
  
"Kunou's out of it," Ranma noted as her friends began to  
leave.  
  
"I really don't want to carry this lump home," Kodachi  
complained.  
  
"I'll walk the two of you back to your place," Ranma  
offered. She helped the still-dreaming Kunou to his feet.  
  
"Come right back," Kasumi commanded as she drifted towards  
the stairs.  
  
"And don't forget to lock up when you come in," Akane said  
after she had seen her friends out the door.  
  
Ranma felt a fresh stab of guilt looking at her fiancee.  
Still, it would feel good to get out into the cool night air and  
let her hot feelings loose on the wind.  
  
With one of them holding either of Kunou's hands, Ranma  
and Kodachi managed to lead the Kendoist back across the  
neighborhood at a fairly rapid pace. It was just after they passed  
Furinkan high that Kodachi spoke.  
  
"Really, was it necessary not to let me see my Ranma-sama  
all evening? I really did expect to see him at least once."  
  
"Kodachi, how many times do I have to say it?" Ranma  
asked, her mood dark and angry because of what she had been  
through. "Why won't you admit it?"  
  
"Whatever could you mean?"  
  
"You know damn well what I mean. I *am* Ranma Saotome.  
I've always been Ranma Saotome. I know that the both of you--" she  
nudged Kunou roughly in the ribs, "--have seen me change before.  
Why can't you just accept it?"  
  
"You act as if you believe your own lies," Kodachi said,  
refusing to face Ranma.  
  
"And you act like you believe whatever story you told  
yourself to explain how this damned curse works," Ranma snapped  
back.  
  
"Prestidigitation. Illusion. Magic... It's all a sham. I  
might as well believe in Santa Claus. Maybe my brother is right,"  
the gymnast said sickly. "Maybe Ranma does get some perverse  
thrill out of forcing you to assume his identity."  
  
"You're a fucking moron, Kodachi. You know that, right?"  
  
No further words passed between the two. Ranma left them  
both at the gate of the Kunou mansion and ran back home.  
  
She knew that no matter how quickly she made it home that  
sleep would not come easily that night.  
  
* * *  
  
Ranma woke the next morning feeling cranky and irritable.  
She didn't particularly feel like spending any time with the  
Tendou girls, so she got dressed in her room and walked down  
stairs to make her way from the house, hopefully unnoticed. Maybe  
she'd go see what was up with Shampoo and why the Chinese girl  
hadn't come over the night before.  
  
Her plans flew out the window when she opened the door up,  
just before Nabiki was about to let herself in from the other  
side.  
  
"Oh, hello," Nabiki said in surprise. Ranma noted that she  
was wearing the same clothes which she had worn to walk Taiyoko  
home.  
  
Ranma really wasn't sure what to say to her. What do you  
tell a girl after you've refused to take her panties off?  
  
"Oh, did you spend the night at Taiyoko-chan's house?"  
Kasumi asked, poking her head into the hallway.  
  
Nabiki nodded. "It was almost two when we got there."  
  
"Her parents must have loved that," Ranma commented dryly,  
remembering how paranoid and easily-angered her friend's parents  
were. They usually didn't want her to have anything to do with  
other girls at all.  
  
"You should have let Taiyoko-chan stay here," Kasumi said.  
  
"I don't even think they noticed I was there," Nabiki  
explained. "They were asleep when we got in and hadn't got up by  
the time I left."  
  
"Well, that's something at least," Ranma said. She walked  
past Nabiki, not looking back at the girl.  
  
As she walked towards the Nekohanten, Ranma couldn't  
decide if she was more angry, disappointed, or turned on. It was  
probably some miserable mix of the three. How could Nabiki be so  
thoughtless as to try to get her in trouble with *all* her  
fiancees?  
  
She put the thought out of her head when she entered the  
Nekohanten. Business appeared to be slow, but steady. Ranma began  
looking around for Shampoo, but was distracted by a shout.  
  
"Nihao! Welcome to Nekohanten!" It was the delivery girl  
from the night before. This time, she was wearing a short, Chinese  
mini-dress similar to the kind Shampoo preferred. "Is Ranma!" she  
shouted back towards the kitchen.  
  
"Uh yeah. Is Shampoo around?"  
  
The girl shook her head. "Shampoo? Shampoo no here." She  
gestured to herself and the two other Chinese girls who just  
emerged from the kitchen. "Soda, Cola, and Tea here! Ranma want  
too-too good spicy-pork ramen?"  
  
"Uh... well..."  
  
"On house for free!" The girl encouraged.  
  
"Well..." Ranma was always a sucker for free food. In  
seconds, the three Chinese girls had ushered her into a booth and  
had a bowl of ramen in front of her.  
  
"This is really good!"  
  
"Ranma have good hungry!" Tea, the delivery girl Ranma met  
the evening before said.  
  
"I haven't had breakfast yet," Ranma explained, eagerly  
consuming her meal.  
  
Soda or Cola, Ranma wasn't sure which, made a quick  
comment in Mandarin. The Chinese girl blushed, and all three girls  
started to giggle naughtily. Ranma thought that it was probably  
something fairly scandalous.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Forgive, Ranma. No speak Japanese good yet," Tea  
explained. "Soda say very pretty. Pretty as Amazon."  
  
"Oh..." Ranma said. Perhaps she was like Taiyoko in that  
respect?  
  
"Soda say if handsome man as pretty girl... want to see  
man Ranma!" Tea finished. All three girls dissolved into giggles  
again. Ranma sighed. It just figured that all the Amazons knew  
about her curse.  
  
After a little while she thanked her hosts for the meal,  
saying that she was going to try to find Shampoo. She decided to  
take the train ride to Minato ward and see if she could get any  
information out of the embassy.  
  
She stopped in front of the guards on duty in front of the  
embassy and asked if she could see Shampoo or Soap. The guards  
apparently recognized her, because they called the embassy via  
two-way radio. After a few minutes, Ranma was escorted up the  
landscaped path and into the building.  
  
She was taken into a sitting room where Cologne and Soap  
were apparently having morning tea.  
  
"Hello, Ranma," Soap greeted her. "I was just speaking  
with my grandmother about you."  
  
"Oh?"  
  
"We were discussing something that concerned you rather  
personally. Here it is," Cologne said, reaching down beside the  
deep chair she was sitting in.  
  
Ranma's jaw tightened when she the old woman presented the  
Kaisufu, the magical kettle that would unlock Ranma's curse and  
allow her to change back into a boy once her medical restrictions  
had expired.  
  
"Well, I'm glad you didn't forget," Ranma said.  
  
"Yes," Cologne noted with a wicked smile. "But can you  
defeat me to get it?"  
  
Ranma's eyes narrowed in suspicion. Her fists clenched,  
and her shoulders bunched, ready for battle. Doctor's orders be  
damned! If Cologne meant to keep the kettle away from her then--  
  
"Just kidding!" the old crone laughed. "You've had quite  
enough punishment, I think." She handed the kettle to Ranma. "I  
would rather you not take it home with you," she suggested. "I  
don't think it can be damaged, but I've witnessed the kinds of  
things that happen at the Tendou Dojo. I'd rather not take the  
risk."  
  
Staring deeply into the ancient surface of the artifact,  
Ranma nodded. She wondered how far she could get if she decided to  
run from the two. Maybe she could find a bathroom with running hot  
water?  
  
"Since it is a cultural treasure originally belonging to  
our nation," Soap informed Ranma, 'I'll keep it here in the  
embassy. I'll bring it back to the Nekohanten when you're ready to  
change back."  
  
Ranma nodded sadly, and handed it over to the ambassador.  
Soon, she thought. Only two more weeks.  
  
There was a polite cough behind Ranma. The red-head  
turned, suddenly remembering the reason she had come to the  
embassy.  
  
It was Shampoo. She had come in through the sitting-room  
was wearing a conservative dress suit and subtle make-up. She  
looked really incredible. There was, however, a look of  
apprehension on her face.  
  
"We had a good time last night," Ranma said. "It was too  
bad that you couldn't come. We all really liked the ramen."  
  
"I'm sorry," Shampoo apologized, "but this is a very busy  
time for me right now. I'm about to leave for China again."  
  
"What?"  
  
"I may have a chance to save Mousse from his own  
stupidity," Shampoo explained. "There is going to be a hearing on  
his actions. If he goes by himself, then he will almost certainly  
be dealt with in a harsh manner. If I go with him, the presence of  
the ambassador's daughter may soften the resolve of whatever  
tribunal gets hold of him."  
  
Ranma couldn't help but wonder at how much Shampoo's  
Japanese had improved. She was also stunned by how responsible the  
Chinese girl suddenly seemed.  
  
"Do you think you can get him off?" Ranma asked seriously.  
  
"Probably not entirely." Shampoo sighed. "I can almost  
certainly save him from a long sentence. I may even be able to  
keep him from condemning himself with his short temper." She  
paused for a few seconds. "I may be gone for some time. Months.  
Maybe as long as a year."  
  
Ranma was stunned by Shampoo's announcement, but smiled at  
her friend. "Do a good job, Shampoo. I'll see you..." There was a  
tone of finalness in her words. Ranma realized that she was saying  
good-bye.  
  
"I'll do my best," Shampoo replied, her voice catching a  
little bit. She leaned over to Ranma and wrapped her arms around  
the girl. Ranma could feel Shampoo's tears against her face.  
  
Shampoo pulled back and gently caressed Ranma's cheek. She  
kissed Ranma lovingly, once on the lips.  
  
"Was that the Kiss of Death, or the Kiss of Marriage,  
Shampoo?" Soap asked seriously.  
  
"Ranma has made it clear that she wants to be my friend,  
mother," Shampoo said. "So that was a kiss of friendship." She  
paused for a second, and turned back to Ranma. "It could have been  
wonderful," she whispered.  
  
Ranma closed her eyes, not wanting to see Shampoo's smile  
breaking into a grimace of pain and grief or the tears that were  
coursing down her face. After a few seconds, the light pressure  
from Shampoo's hand was gone from her face. She could hear  
Shampoo's slow, clicking footsteps receding down the hallway.  
  
"Goodbye, Shampoo," Ranma whispered, her voice catching in  
the throat.  
  
Then the tears came. Ranma didn't try to stop them this  
time. She let them run down her face. She turned away from Soap  
and Cologne, and slowly walked out of the embassy for the very  
last time.  
  
-----  
  
~to be continued... 


	16. Understanding

Ranma and his friends belong to Rumiko Takahashi. They're used  
here without permission.  
  
------------------------------  
newRanma 16: Understanding  
  
by Chris Jones  
------------------------------  
  
To Ranma's surprise, neither Ukyou nor Akane were as happy  
as she thought they'd be about Shampoo's departure. It was a  
pleasant surprise for her that they appeared to miss the girl  
almost as much as she did, but Ranma did not question their  
motives.  
  
Since Shampoo left Japan to try to help Mousse with his  
legal problems back in China the days had taken on a thin,  
expectant quality. Ranma began to have more and more trouble  
sleeping at night just because she couldn't help but think about  
how close she was to being through with her ordeal.  
  
The day of changing was almost upon her. Time couldn't  
move quickly enough for Ranma. It felt like the days were flowing  
as slowly as syrup.  
  
One afternoon, Ranma spent a few hours at the Nekohanten  
soaking up free ramen noodles and getting to know the new  
waitresses, Tea, Cola, and Soda. All three girls were attractive  
Amazon warriors. Although they barely spoke Japanese, Ranma knew  
that the girls were smart, sharp, and skilled. Ranma wondered if  
there was any way should could spar with them after her  
restrictions were finally over without accidentally engaging  
herself to one of them.  
  
Better to leave well enough alone.  
  
From time to time, one of the girls would say something in  
Mandarin that was apparently quite naughty. The other two would  
blush deeply and giggle at Ranma from across the restaurant.  
  
"What are they saying?" Ranma asked Cologne as she pogoed  
out of the kitchen on her gnarled cane.  
  
"Girl-things," Cologne answered. "They're quite taken with  
the idea of a handsome young martial artist who changes into a  
pretty girl."  
  
"Yeah, that's exactly what I need. Three more girlfriends.  
No thank you!"  
  
"I don't think they're serious about it," Cologne assured  
her. "Also, they would never dream of trying to take you away from  
Shampoo."  
  
Apparently, they hadn't heard what passed between Ranma  
and Shampoo at the embassy.  
  
"Speaking of which, I figured you'd be back in your  
village by now. Why are you sticking around here?"  
  
Cologne nodded at the girls. "They're three of our best  
and brightest. Since I needed some new help around here, I decided  
to give them the opportunity. Besides, there are much better  
schools and learning opportunities for young women in Japan than  
there are in China." She laughed out loud. "When I was a girl, all  
you really needed to dominate your enemies and excel in the world  
was training in the martial arts. These days, Martial training  
only goes so far. The world is changing very rapidly. To stay  
strong and fierce, we must change with it."  
  
It was quite a realization. Was Cologne truly moving the  
center of the Joketsuzoku in order to take advantage of better  
learning opportunities in Japan? Ranma realized that her home  
country was probably not the best place in the world to try to get  
ahead if you were a woman, but China was almost certainly more  
restrictive.  
  
Ranma shook her head. A few weeks ago, she would have  
disputed what Cologne said. Now she realized that the world was  
indeed a truly scary and complicated place. She remembered how  
much fun learning Shiatsu had been. It was something she had never  
really considered before. Ranma would always be a martial artist,  
but maybe it wouldn't hurt her to broaden her own horizons a bit.  
  
* * *  
  
Later that week, Ranma realized that she and Hiroshi were  
seeing less and less of Daisuke.  
  
"We've lost him to a pretty face," Hiroshi lamented  
Thursday afternoon as he and Ranma were on their way to the manga  
shop.  
  
"Could be worse," Ranma noted. "We could have lost him to  
several pretty faces. I've been there and it's not that fun."  
  
"Sometimes I wish I had your problems, Saotome. I'd  
probably make them infinitely worse, but it sure would be lot of  
fun getting in trouble."  
  
"Bleh..."  
  
In truth, Ranma was more than a little bit concerned about  
her situation. When she hung out with both boys, it looked a whole  
lot less like a romantic outing. Now, if she and Hiroshi walked  
anywhere near each other on the sidewalk, people gave them  
friendly stares and knowing smiles.  
  
It came to a head in the manga shop. Ranma and Hiroshi  
were discussing the finer points of mecha design in a robot manga,  
when a couple girls wearing the uniform from a nearby junior-high  
began to giggle at them. Obviously, they were scandalized by how  
close the two were standing together or how casually they put  
their heads together to read the same page.  
  
Ranma stiffened.  
  
"Damn," Hiroshi whispered. "I didn't think this was going  
to be a problem. You wanna get out of here?"  
  
Ranma exhaled angrily. "No," she stated after several  
seconds of listening to the quiet giggles and gossip directed at  
them. "I will not allow my curse to mess with my life like this."  
  
Hiroshi shrugged and continued to read. The girls  
continued to giggle, and even started to follow the pair around,  
gossiping behind their back. Finally, after Ranma checked out and  
was about to leave, she got fed up with the situation.  
  
With her most vapid expression, she wrapped her arms  
around one of Hiroshi's and began to fawn all over him.  
  
"What are you doing?!" Hiroshi hissed.  
  
"Giving them what they want," Ranma whispered into his  
ear.  
  
"Well, stop it!"  
  
"Tee hee!" Ranma giggled, bouncing in as cute a manner as  
she could manage. She stuck her tongue out at the nosy girls and  
led Hiroshi from the shop.  
  
"Did you really have to do that?" Hiroshi asked. His face  
and ears were burning red.  
  
"Just think of it as punishment for staring at my ass all  
the time," Ranma said.  
  
* * *  
  
Soun returned from his somber trip at the end of the week.  
He was happy to be back, and cried when he ate the cookies Kasumi  
had ready for him. He brought souvenirs back for both his  
daughters and Ranma. Kasumi got an American cookbook, and Akane  
got a large stack of maps, illustrated guidebooks, and postcards.  
She also got a small acrylic model of the Golden Gate Bridge.  
Ranma got an English language martial arts video.  
  
Nabiki got perhaps the most expensive gift, but none of  
the other girls begrudged her her prize. It was a stack of  
currency, one piece of each domination of American currency from a  
small copper penny to green paper one-hundred dollar note.  
  
"No thousand note?" Nabiki asked, gleefully sorting  
through her new acquisition.  
  
"I'm not made out of money, you know," Soun said.  
  
Nabiki was apparently lost in contemplation. She held up  
both a gold colored one dollar coin decorated with the face of an  
American-Indian princess and the familiar one dollar bill.  
  
"Oh, by the way, I'm going to be gone for dinner again,"  
Nabiki said before she went to hide her loot.  
  
"Oh?" Soun asked.  
  
"Nabiki and Taiyoko have become quite good friends,"  
Kasumi noted.  
  
Ranma nodded in agreement, thinking that Nabiki was  
starting to go out with Taiyoko quite a bit more often. Maybe if  
she spent more time with her friends, Nabiki would be less  
interested in romance with Ranma. Ranma wasn't sure if she liked  
that or not, but thought that it would definitely keep her out of  
trouble.  
  
The next day, Ranma began to wonder about her own parents.  
They had indicated that it might be awhile before they got back,  
but Ranma hadn't heard hide nor hair of them in the entire time  
they had been gone.  
  
The next week passed uneventfully, but seemed like it  
would never end. Ranma felt like she was trapped in concrete.  
Worse, her anticipation made her jumpy. She started to worry about  
things that were probably inconsequential.  
  
"You don't think I'll have any problem with my head do  
you?" Ranma asked, staring in the mirror one morning before she  
left for school.  
  
"Of course not, Ranma," Akane said impatiently. "Hurry up,  
before we're late again!"  
  
Ranma noted dimly that Nabiki missed dinner every night  
that week, and was gone quite late most evenings, but was far, far  
too concerned with her own problems to really care.  
  
In the back of her brain, Ranma knew that in only a few  
days she'd be able to starting thinking about really doing the  
kinds of things she wanted to with... with...  
  
Ucchan certainly looked good in that bunny suit, Ranma  
remembered. Akane could be pretty cute when she wanted to. Maybe  
she'd even think about spending the kind of time with Nabiki that  
the girl seemed to want after she changed back into a guy. Ranma  
thought that maybe she should give some thought to trying to  
figure out what to do about her multiple engagements.  
  
Unfortunately for Ranma, it was all she could do to sit  
still, let alone concentrate on any of her problems. Everything  
would change again on Friday. It would be a whole new game... a  
new fight with new challenges.  
  
* * *  
  
On Thursday, Ranma went to Tofuu's clinic for a checkup.  
Rather than ushering her inside, however, Tofuu had his clinic  
locked up and his small economy car running out in front.  
  
"What's the deal?" Ranma asked.  
  
"I wanted to take you back to the hospital for a CAT-scan  
and some x-rays," Tofuu explained. "I just wanted to make sure  
that there are no obvious problems before you change back  
tomorrow."  
  
"There better not be!" Ranma exclaimed.  
  
After the quick ride to the hospital, Tofuu guided Ranma  
through the maze of corridors to the CAT-scan lab. The procedure  
was relatively quick and painless. The X-rays were also fairly  
quick. While they were waiting for the results, Tofuu took Ranma  
into a vacant examination room for a quick physical examination.  
He had her unfasten her shirt so that he could use a stethoscope,  
but his manner was quick and professional.  
  
"Everything looks to be in order," Tofuu noted absently as  
Ranma refastened her shirt. "You've grown four centimeters in the  
last three months."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"You're still young enough to be growing," Tofuu noted.  
"It's also possible that your surgery triggered a little bit of a  
growth spurt. I'm certain that your hormone levels have been  
fluctuating somewhat as well. If you notice any odd pains in your  
ribs or long bones, let me know."  
  
Ranma nodded.  
  
Once the CAT-scan and x-rays were ready, Tofuu pointed out  
the square cut in Ranma's skull, which was still quite visible  
despite the fact that it had healed. He said that he thought Ranma  
would have no problem changing back. He admitted that the  
Jusenkyou curse was still very much a mystery, but doubted that  
anything short of having broken or cut bones would ever  
inconvenience Ranma so much because of it again.  
  
Ranma had cleared the last of her hurdles before changing  
back.  
  
* * *  
  
Friday morning, Kunou sat alone. Of course he was  
surrounded by the other students, but didn't really feel like he  
fit in at all. Usually, he exchanged light banter with Nabiki  
Tendou, but she had school left early, noting in passing that  
today was Ranma's special day.  
  
Ranma... the pigtailed-girl... had been looking forward to  
today for months now. Kunou had slowly come to understand that  
today was the day when she would be freed from the restrictions  
placed upon her movement by over-careful doctors and surgeons. He  
remembered Nabiki Tendou's words from that day so many weeks ago  
when she warned him how much danger his beloved was really in.  
  
Then, there was talk of this curse that everybody but him  
seemed to engage in. Foolish nonsense. Everyone knew that there  
was no such thing as magic.  
  
His mind flashed back to a day more than a decade ago. It  
played out in his mind, as grainy and distorted as the eight  
millimeter film his father had captured the memory on:  
  
In the film, the little boy watched the magician tie a  
complicated-looking knot in a piece of white rope. Then he handed  
the rope to the little boy and gestured to the audience.  
  
With his hands on either end of the short rope, the little  
boy pulled to demonstrate to the audience that yes, indeed, the  
knot was solid.  
  
Then the magician put his hands around the knot and  
shouted his magical words. When his hands came away, the knot was  
gone and the rope was suddenly slack.  
  
The little boy stared in amazement, examining the rope. He  
pulled it again, unbelieving. He couldn't understand how something  
so magical could have happened right in front of his eyes.  
  
To that day, Kunou couldn't grasp how the trick was done.  
He had learned long ago that there were things he simply couldn't  
understand. That didn't mean they were magic.  
  
Frankly, he was glad that the male Ranma Saotome had  
chosen to recover from his injuries in isolation. Kunou had gotten  
to know the pigtailed girl better than ever before. She had even  
hinted that she considered him to be her friend, even if she was  
still reluctant to pursue any kind of romantic relationship.  
  
Perhaps today would be the day he could help her to see  
reason, and to finally escape the shadow of Ranma Saotome.  
  
Making up his mind, he gathered his things and left a note  
for the teacher before he left school.  
  
* * *  
  
Ranma realized she was trembling with excitement as she  
and some of her closest friends gathered at the Nekohanten. Akane  
and her sisters were there, as well as Ukyou. Daisuke, Saya,  
Hiroshi, Sayuri, and Yuka had also come to wish her well. Soun,  
Tofuu and Cologne chatted near the back of the restaurant, while  
everyone else was joking around amiably. Ranma looked on happily,  
but was far, far too nervous to join them. She wondered if the  
cramps in her stomach were from the nervousness, or her period,  
which was due to start in just a few days. Either way, it wouldn't  
be a problem in just a few minutes. The tension Ranma had been  
building up over months would be done with in a few hundred  
heartbeats.  
  
Earlier in the day, that tension had been almost  
unbearable. Even Akane seemed keyed up.  
  
Ranma remembered how impatient she had been when she  
changed out of panties and into a pair of boxers for what she  
hoped was the last time ever. She had almost torn the boxers  
pulling them over her hips. When she checked her hair, she decided  
that it had grown out enough in three months. She wouldn't look  
girly or cute when she changed.  
  
All those concerns faded as the minutes clicked by.  
  
After a few minutes, Taiyoko walked through the door.  
  
"Hey! I didn't expect you to come."  
  
The blonde girl embraced Ranma warmly. "I got out of  
school because I know how important this is to you." She smiled at  
Ranma and went to sit by Nabiki.  
  
Then, to Ranma's surprise, Kunou came through the door.  
  
"I really didn't expect you to come," she echoed.  
  
"Isn't today your special day?" Kunou asked.  
  
"Yeah. Yeah, it is," Ranma replied.  
  
Finally, after several minutes, everyone could see a red  
sports-car pull up outside the Nekohanten. Ambassador Soap entered  
the shop, carrying a cloth bundle.  
  
"That's it, right?" Ranma asked. "No tricks or anything?"  
  
"My grandmother might try to trick you from time to time,"  
Soap assured her in an amused tone, "But I'll play it straight."  
She unwrapped the Kaisufu and handed the magical kettle to Ranma.  
  
"I have some hot water in the kitchen," Cologne said. "Let  
me get it."  
  
"I'll help you," Kasumi volunteered.  
  
Ranma waited, fidgeting impatiently. She felt like  
everyone was staring at her, but she really didn't care anymore.  
All she wanted was to pour hot water over her head and wash away  
her cursed body.  
  
"So what are you looking forward to most, Ranma?" Hiroshi  
asked lamely.  
  
"Being able to stand up when I take a piss," Ranma said.  
There were probably things she would like to do with her male body  
more, maybe something with one of the girls perhaps, but she  
couldn't talk about that in public.  
  
For a second, Ranma wondered where her parents were. Her  
mother said that she wanted to see Ranma change back. Ranma was a  
little saddened because she and Genma were going to miss it.  
  
"Are you ready?" Cologne asked.  
  
Kasumi walked into the dining room carrying a bucket full  
of steaming water. Ranma held the magical kettle out eagerly.  
  
Cologne cleared her throat. "The water has to be in  
contact with the Kaisufu and your body at the same time. If you  
pour slowly--"  
  
"I have done this before," Ranma noted. "Pour, Kasumi,"  
she pleaded.  
  
Suddenly, the door burst open.  
  
Ranma turned, but put a hand on the bucket of warm water  
just in case.  
  
"GROWF!!!"  
  
"Pops!"  
  
"Wait, Ranma!" Nodoka said, running into the shop. At  
least Ranma thought it was her mother. The woman was wearing a  
short chengosam and cloth shoes. Her hair was wrapped up in a  
scarf, but Ranma recognized her mother's face. She looked good,  
like she had gotten a lot of exercise recently. Younger, even.  
  
"Mom?"  
  
"GROWF!!" The panda began hurriedly scribbling on a sign.  
  
The woman ran over to Ranma and pecked her on the cheek.  
She brushed aside a curl of red hair that poked out from  
underneath the woman's scarf. "I'm sorry we're so late, Ranma-  
chan. Please go ahead."  
  
Wait a second. Red hair?  
  
'QUICKLY!' Genma's sign read.  
  
Ranma nodded, and upended the now-full Kaisufu over her  
head.  
  
Time seemed to slow to a crawl as the first droplet fell  
down from the kettle. Years later, Ranma would remember that it  
seemed to fall for an eternity before it splashed on her nose.  
  
There was wetness, and an intense pain in her head. She  
could briefly feel the bones in her skull shifting to accommodate  
the newly-healed bone.  
  
And then Ranma dropped the kettle on the wet floor...  
  
And looked around at everyone who was staring in wonder,  
or happiness, or appreciation...  
  
And jumped into the air and screamed like a maniac...  
  
Because Ranma Saotome was back.  
  
"YEEEEEESSSSS!" Ranma shouted, shaking *his* fists in the  
air above *his* head. He laughed out loud and began to dance  
around.  
  
Nodoka hugged him, wrapping her arms around him, and  
bussing him noisily on the cheek. "I'm so happy for you, my son."  
  
Ranma was still too happy for any kind of real speech, so  
settled for returning his mother's embrace.  
  
'HURRY, NO-CHAN,' the panda's sign read. 'WE DON'T HAVE  
MUCH TIME LEFT.'  
  
"What ever is the matter?" Kasumi asked.  
  
"Nothing!" Nodoka said, a little too quickly. Her hand  
went to the knot of the scarf underneath her chin, making sure  
that it was still fastened securely. "Ranma," she hastily amended.  
"I know it sounds strange, but if anyone comes looking for your  
father and myself, we will be in..."  
  
'VENEZUELA,' Genma wrote.  
  
"Uh, right. I love you Ranma. We'll see you soon."  
  
"GROWF! GROOOWFF!"  
  
With that, his mother and father-turned-panda ran back out  
the door.  
  
Then the party began. It wasn't even seriously interrupted  
when a small band of ninjas came into the Nekohanten demanding to  
know where the red-headed woman and her panda had gone.  
  
"Red-head and a panda?" Ranma asked, shaking his head. "No  
clue. Haven't seen them."  
  
"They went to Venezuela," Akane said.  
  
"Akane!" Nabiki chided. "You don't give away information  
like that for free." Then, she and Taiyoko both collapsed into a  
fit of giggles.  
  
With a sick expression on his face, Tatewaki Kunou got up  
from his seat and walked out of the Nekohanten.  
  
* * *  
  
Kunou wandered around town for some time. His mind was  
empty. The problem was, if he thought too hard, what he saw came  
back to him. If he didn't consciously force it from his mind, it  
played out over and over again.  
  
Ranma upended the kettle over her head. Before the water  
hit her face, she was the beautiful pigtailed girl he knew and  
loved. After the water hit her face, there was Ranma Saotome,  
holding the kettle above his head.  
  
He had seen the illusion before, of course, but never so  
closely. There were too many details that were too perfect-- the  
way Ranma's clothes stretched to cover a larger frame or the way  
the boy had to adjust his stance slightly to account for a larger  
base. Then there was the kettle. It didn't bob any at all as it  
was held above the magically changing martial artist. If Kunou had  
been paying attention to just the kettle, he would have sworn that  
it never changed hands.  
  
The really unbelievable part was that everyone around  
Kunou, including Ranma's mother, treated the two as if they were  
truly the same person... just like both Ranma and the pigtailed  
girl claimed was the case all along.  
  
Kunou was certain that this could not be the case! There  
was no such thing as magic. It must have a reasonable explanation.  
It must! Even if he could not understand it, it must.  
  
What explanation was there for what Kunou had seen?  
  
It was well after dark by the time Kunou approached his  
home. He let himself in the gate and strode along the wooden path  
to the training yards behind his family's mansion. He found a tree  
stump near the small artificial river that ran through the Kunou's  
property, and sat on it. He concentrated, trying to keep the  
images out of his mind.  
  
Kodachi's crocodile started to climb up out of the stream  
towards him, but Kunou glared at it darkly enough to send it  
scurrying back into the safety of the murky water.  
  
"You feel like talking about it?"  
  
Kunou stood and spun, drawing his bokken.  
  
Ranma-- the male one-- was standing on a tree limb above  
Kunou. The pigtailed boy dropped, grabbed the limb with one hand,  
and turned a graceful somersault before landing on the ground in  
front of Kunou. He staggered as he landed, almost losing his  
balance.  
  
"Damn. I am so out of shape. I'm gonna spend the next  
twelve weeks doing nothing but sparring and training. Maybe you  
should attack me. You probably have a pretty good chance of  
beating me right now."  
  
"Leave here at once!" Kunou commanded.  
  
"If you really want me to," Ranma said. "You were happy to  
see me here a few days ago."  
  
"That wasn't you!" Kunou accused.  
  
Ranma shook his head sadly, and took several steps away.  
He leaned casually on a tree. "I really don't know why I'm doing  
this. If you still don't believe what you saw, then I guess  
there's no hope of ever convincing you."  
  
"Then why are you troubling me like this?" Kunou asked  
sadly. "Why must you torment me so?"  
  
"And you weren't tormenting me when you kissed me?" Ranma  
stuck out his tongue and gagged. "Gyahh! I can't believe I just  
said that."  
  
Kunou paled. "Even if you were to convince me, I know  
there's no such thing as magic! You won't fool me."  
  
"You know, I thought there wasn't any such thing as magic  
a few years ago. My dad had done enough 'magic' tricks on people's  
money or their food to convince me. When I fell in that damned  
spring everything changed. If magic's got a smell, I stink of it  
right now."  
  
"No! There's a logical explanation. I can't... There no  
way I could..."  
  
"Have fallen in love with a guy?" Ranma asked seriously.  
  
Kunou was shaking. His face was full of anger and outrage.  
  
"I thought that might be it. As a matter of fact, I guess  
that's why I came. I know what it's like to be confused, mostly  
because I've been confused as hell the last few months. I've been  
second guessing myself and suffering like anything because I  
wasn't sure what... or even *who* I was. Believe me," he laughed,  
"you ain't the first guy to fall in love with me. You ain't even  
the first guy to try to kiss me. Why with this body--" Ranma  
walked over to the creek and used his foot to splash up a spray of  
water. "--with this body, I'd even fall in love with me," she  
finished.  
  
Kunou froze. Ranma's voice just rose up in pitch to become  
the familiar voice of his beloved. There was no switching of  
places. No trick. No illusion.  
  
"So... do you believe now?" Ranma asked.  
  
Kunou turned and sat back down on his stump, his face  
buried in his hands.  
  
"When I was a little boy," the kendoist started quietly.  
"My dear mother took Kodachi and myself to a public library. There  
was a free magic show that day. Mother had grown up very poor, so  
she thought it would be a wonderful opportunity to entertain her  
children. We could have hired a magicians to perform every day,  
but she took us to that particular show. While we were there, the  
magician performed a certain trick. He tied a knot in a rope and  
made me pull on it to show that it was fast. Then he made the knot  
disappear while I was still holding the rope. It was magic. I  
thought it was magic, at least. I was terrified. Even to this day,  
I still cannot fathom that illusion. As my mother told me, that  
does not mean it was any less a trick."  
  
Ranma put a finger to her chin in thought. After a few  
seconds, she sat down next to Kunou and began to pull at the waist  
of her pants. She untied the cord that held them up, and worked  
over it for several seconds, tying an intricate knot. Finally, she  
held it up.  
  
Wordlessly, Kunou took either end. He pulled. Sure enough,  
the knot held.  
  
"And... voila," Ranma said, pressing one short length of  
rope back through the knot while Kunou was still holding it.  
  
The knot came undone in Kunou's hands.  
  
"It's a kind of slipknot," Ranma explained. "It won't  
budge if it can pull on that one piece, but the second you pull it  
out of the rest of the knot, it comes open. It's kinda like a  
lynch pin." She took the rope back away from him and tied it back  
around her pants. "There's magic, and then there's... *magic*,"  
she said, standing and gesturing at her own body.  
  
"I want to be your friend," she said after walking around  
Kunou's training yard for a second. "You're an asshole sometimes,  
but that's true for everybody. I can't be your friend as long as  
you believe that someday you're gonna 'free me from Ranma'. You  
can't treat me one way when I'm a guy, and then another when I'm a  
girl."  
  
Kunou stared into her face wordlessly.  
  
"If you're wondering," Ranma said, "--and I don't think  
you are, but I feel the need to say it anyway-- I'm still a guy.  
Up here, if nowhere else," she elaborated, pointing at her head.  
"I like girls. I'm sorry if my body made me lead you on. I can  
never love you. Not as a girl. Not as a guy. Sorry."  
  
The two stood in silence for several minutes.  
  
"Now that I can finally do everything I want to again, I'm  
gonna need some training partners," Ranma said. "Lots of em,  
probably. It's gonna take me a while to get back in shape. You  
wanna fight me from time to time? We could probably both use the  
practice."  
  
"I will consider that... Ranma," Kunou replied quietly.  
  
Ranma grinned. She turned and ran.  
  
High above, on the roof of the Kunou mansion, a pair of  
eyes looked down where the scene had just taken place below. They  
followed Ranma as she ran towards the wall, and then vaulted it.  
Then they followed Kunou as he tiredly trudged up towards the  
building.  
  
The crack of a ribbon sounded out, and then there was  
nothing.  
  
----------  
  
~to be continued.  
  
Plane tickets to the U.S. -  
Room, board and souvenirs for two weeks - $350  
One of each kind of currency up to $100 - $189.91  
Knowing that your daughter isn't going to extort you for even  
more? - Priceless 


	17. Deceiving

Ranma and his friends belong to Rumiko Takahashi. They're used  
here without permission.  
  
This story contains some adult material. Reader discretion is  
advised.  
  
------------------------------  
newRanma 17: Deceiving  
  
by Chris Jones  
------------------------------  
  
Ranma was a pervert. That was the only explanation for  
what was happening.  
  
He thought that his body would quit trying to make his  
decisions for him when he was finally able to change back from  
being a girl. He couldn't have been more wrong. Like before, it  
was the little things that really got him, like sitting too close  
to one of the girls.  
  
The day after he changed back, he found himself sitting  
behind Akane in class as usual. Like before, his eyes tried to  
linger on the curve of her neck. Also of interest was the way her  
school skirt rode up her calves when she kicked the floor under  
her chair.  
  
What was new were the not-so-subtle stirrings that now  
happened in response. Ranma had felt the sensation before, usually  
early in the mornings, or if something was rubbing against him for  
some reason. Never before had it just... happened... just because  
he looked at a girl.  
  
It was a normal reaction, at least according to the copy  
of 'Bodywatching' Makuna-sensei had given Ranma. When he thought  
about it, he even remembered seeing the tale-tell bulges it caused  
on other guys. It never seemed to want to go away, however.  
Thinking about martial arts helped somewhat. Once Ranma's  
concentration was torn away from female flesh, the almost painful  
stiffness eased and even disappeared after a while. If Akane,  
Ukyou, or any of the other attractive girls in his class managed  
to catch his attention again, nothing Ranma could do would stop  
his erection from rising once more.  
  
It was embarrassing! Did other guys have to deal with  
this?  
  
A few hours of surreptitious observation of his classmates  
confirmed Ranma's suspicions. Other guys *did* seem to have to  
deal with it. Ranma felt a little odd trying to look at other  
guy's crotches without being noticed, but one or two of them did  
seem to bulge more than normal during the times they stood up in  
class. Hiroshi, he noticed, carried a book with him if he left to  
use the restroom during the between-class breaks once or twice  
during the day. He shifted the book seemingly without thinking  
about it, keeping it between his waist and the rest of the room.  
Ranma could tell by the tightness around his eyes and tenseness of  
his shoulders that Hiroshi was very much aware of what he was  
doing, and probably more than a little sensitive about it.  
  
Other guys seemed not to care. Some guys seemed to care  
too much. Hikaru Gosunkuji, who was always sat in the back of the  
class, always carried his school bag or a book defensively over  
his waist almost every time he got up.  
  
So it's not just me, Ranma thought, feeling some relief.  
  
What did seem odd were the other changes in his  
perception. For one thing, he felt unusually protective of the  
girls around him. He had always felt protective of the girls. It  
was mostly because he felt it was his duty to protect those who  
couldn't protect themselves as well as he could. Then it was  
because he felt like he probably got them all in more trouble than  
they deserved or could conveniently handle.  
  
Now, he was just waiting for someone to attack Akane,  
Ukyou, or any of the other girls in his class for that matter. He  
thought briefly about how he would get up to the next floor if  
someone mouthed off to Nabiki. He wanted someone to attack one of  
them, because then Ranma could defend them and... and... then  
what?  
  
When he was supposed to be concentrating on an economics  
lesson, Ranma thought about the situation. In his mind, an evil,  
rapacious warrior had come to Furinkan to enslave all the pretty  
girls. He decided to start with Akane, Ukyou, and Nabiki. Ranma  
leapt to their aid, struggling a little bit in the fight because  
he had been out of action for so long, but then coming through at  
the end of the battle, just when it really mattered.  
  
The girls were all very thankful for Ranma's help, and  
showed their thanks by warmly embracing him. Of course, they had  
not yet been able to replace the clothes that the evil warrior had  
torn off their bodies, so they did this in only tatters of  
lingerie.  
  
Then, Ranma grabbed Nabiki by the wrists and started doing  
the kinds of things to her that the evil warrior had been about  
to.  
  
"Mister Saotome, are you listening?!"  
  
"Wha...?" Ranma mumbled, jostled out of his reverie by the  
teacher's yell.  
  
"I asked you to come up here and draw the appropriate  
graph. Have you been listening at all?"  
  
"Of course I have," he lied. He glanced over at Ukyou's  
textbook. "We were talking about laws of Supply and Demand."  
  
"If you know so much," the teacher said, seeing through  
Ranma's ruse, "then come up here and draw the graph."  
  
Ranma suddenly realized that would be very uncomfortable  
and possibly quite embarrassing since his previous line of thought  
had indeed caused the same physical reaction he had been so  
worried about earlier. "Do I gotta?" he asked, quickly trying to  
figure out how much of a dork he'd look like if he took a book up  
to the chalk-board with him.  
  
There were a few titters of laughter around the classroom.  
Akane looked back over her shoulder at Ranma, curiosity warring  
with irritation on her face.  
  
"What on earth is keeping you from doing what I ask,  
Saotome?" the teacher asked in irritation.  
  
"My leg went to sleep," Ranma improvised. "And if I get  
up, then I'm gonna fall right back down again. Everyone will laugh  
at me."  
  
"And that's not already the case?" the teacher asked. "See  
me after school, Saotome. Get up here and draw the graph, Kuonji."  
  
* * *  
  
After school, Ranma started sparring with Soun. There were  
people he'd rather be sparring with, but Genma still wasn't back  
from his trip yet and Kunou had been actively avoiding Ranma. He  
was rather hoping that Ryouga would show up soon. That would be a  
good, hard challenge.  
  
Still, Soun was pressing him. Ranma thought that it would  
be like fighting Akane, except that Ranma wouldn't have to feel  
bad about fighting back. Soun surprised him. The man would dodge  
in, lightly testing Ranma's defenses. When Ranma tried to take  
advantage of Soun's advances, the man retreated and became utterly  
defensive. Ranma couldn't help but think that the man's strategy  
was effective for prolonging a fight but that it wouldn't win many  
battles.  
  
Afterwards, much to Ranma's surprise, Soun gave him a list  
of things he had let slip or needed improvement on. Ranma had to  
admit that Akane's father was a very good martial arts sensei.  
  
Ranma considered trying to get Akane to spar with him, but  
the girl had been looking at him a little oddly the last few days.  
He mentioned it to Kasumi in passing that night after dinner.  
  
"You've grown quite a bit during the last three months,"  
the young woman noted. "You've also done some filling out across  
the shoulders. Akane is probably just being shy because you look a  
little different. That's all."  
  
Could that be it? Was Akane afraid of him perhaps? Maybe  
it was something else. Perhaps she was attracted to him. That  
couldn't be. Could it?  
  
Ranma's train of thought was neatly derailed as he strode  
past the guest room door on his way to his own room. He heard his  
mother's voice inside. Almost without thinking, he ran to open the  
door. He paused just before jerking it open when she started to  
shout.  
  
"What if Soun or the girls saw my hair like this? It would  
be horrible!"  
  
"You're being silly, No-chan. They've been around Ranma  
for almost a year now," Genma's voice replied. "I'm fairly certain  
that everyone knows your real hair color by now."  
  
Real hair color?  
  
"You didn't marry a red-head."  
  
"No, but I've been sleeping with one for the last several  
weeks."  
  
It was true then. Ranma had indeed seen a red curl  
protruding from his mother's scarf a few days ago. He wondered why  
she sought to change her hair color?  
  
"Mom?" he called out.  
  
"Ranma? Oh dear..."  
  
"Can I come in?" he asked.  
  
"This is so embarrassing," she mumbled. "Please go  
downstairs, Ranma," Nodoka asked after a few seconds. "Your father  
and I will be down in just a second."  
  
Grinning, but still a little confused, Ranma went down  
stairs and informed the Tendous that his parents had returned.  
After a few minutes, Genma and Nodoka both walked gravely down the  
stairway and bowed to the Tendous.  
  
Genma looked healthier than Ranma had even seen him. He  
had lost a significant amount of weight in the last few weeks, and  
appeared sharp and alert. A few strands of black hair were  
protruding out from underneath his bandanna.  
  
"Aunty, your hair!" Akane exclaimed after everyone had  
welcomed the pair back.  
  
Nodoka glared at the girl, but didn't say anything.  
  
Indeed, Nodoka was dressed nicely, wearing a fairly  
attractive dress, but her normal hairstyle had altered. It had  
apparently been cut, and instead of a large, single bun in back,  
Nodoka now wore two small odango-style buns on either side of her  
head.  
  
Most significant was the fact that Nodoka's hair color was  
now bright red, a match for Ranma's girl-side.  
  
"Don't let her intimidate you, Akane," Genma told her.  
"It's her natural color, but she's been dying it for years."  
  
"But why, Aunty?" Kasumi asked. "It's so beautiful."  
  
"It's embarrassing!" Nodoka exclaimed, her cheeks almost  
as red as her hair. "It makes me stand out!"  
  
"Oh, like that would be a change for the Saotomes," Nabiki  
joked.  
  
"And how did you grow it out so fast?" Akane wondered.  
  
"And where did you go?" Soun asked. "You both look like  
you've spent months at a health spa."  
  
"Hard exercise does have certain effects," Nodoka  
answered.  
  
"But most of it probably came out of that magical onsen in  
Hawaii," Genma said. "It was horrible, Tendou," Genma said. "We  
were taken prisoner and dumped into a magical bath. At first I  
thought it was another curse, but then I found it was infinitely  
worse than that."  
  
"You didn't think it was very bad when those three  
priestesses started swarming all over you," Nodoka noted with a  
raised eyebrow.  
  
"I thought we weren't going to discuss that," Genma  
replied in embarrassment.  
  
"Priestesses?" Ranma wondered out loud.  
  
"Of some pacific island fertility goddess. There were  
priests too," Genma noted in an off-hand manner. "At least I think  
they were priests. Did you ever find out dear? I was rather  
occupied at the time."  
  
Nodoka blushed and grimaced. "It wasn't my fault!" she  
announced a little too loudly. "It was because of that magical  
necklace. Besides, I thought you had forgiven me for that."  
  
"I had. I was just wondering," Genma told her. "After the  
priestesses poured cold water on me, they weren't nearly so  
interested any more, and tried to chase me away, so I never got  
the chance to see what they finally did to you."  
  
"It doesn't matter after what they made us do together on  
the goddess's altar, does it?" Nodoka asked in a quiet tone.  
  
Genma cleared his throat. "I guess not. That's an  
experience I'm not going to forget in a hurry."  
  
"Oh my!" Kasumi said, blushing to her collar. She turned  
and fled from the room.  
  
"Well, well..." Nabiki said, eyeing the couple in  
surprise.  
  
Ranma's eyes widened in shock. Apparently, his parents  
little vacation had been quite an... interesting... adventure.  
Both his parents sported very guilty expressions. He noted that  
they were holding hands, though. Whatever had happened seemed to  
have patched the difficulties they'd been having.  
  
Akane gasped, and glared at Ranma as Soun and Genma  
started to discuss the more mundane aspects of the sabbatical.  
  
"What?!" Ranma challenged her  
  
"Your whole family is perverted, Ranma!"  
  
"Shut up, Akane!"  
  
* * *  
  
When Ranma got back up to his room later that evening,  
Nabiki was waiting for him, sitting on his bed. She was fidgeting  
idly. For a second, he wondered if she had come to try something  
naughty again, but the expression said that something was wrong.  
Ranma did his best to keep his eyes from lingering on the hem of  
her shorts or her long legs. "What's up?" he asked defensively. He  
tried to keep a middle ground in the room, neither approaching nor  
retreating from the girl.  
  
"How would you feel about paying some of your debt off?"  
Nabiki asked. Her tone was almost pleading.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
Nabiki was actually trembling a little bit. "A friend of  
mine has a problem," she said evasively, "and if you help us  
out... her out... I can make it worth your while."  
  
"Come on, Nabiki. I really don't feel like getting  
involved in one of your scams right now," Ranma groaned. "I've got  
more than enough to worry about." He rolled his eyes. Privately,  
he was more than a little disappointed that Nabiki didn't seem to  
be interested in... other things.  
  
Nabiki was silent, but Ranma could see the muscles in her  
face contracting as her jaw clenched.  
  
"It's not a scam, Ranma," she said after a few seconds.  
"We really need your help. This isn't something I can do by myself  
and I thought that you'd jump--"  
  
"No." Ranma cut her off. "It's not like I'll ever be able  
to pay you off anyway, so why don't you just leave me alone and  
stop trying to confuse me."  
  
Nabiki's eyes flashed dangerously. For a second, Ranma saw  
the family resemblance between her and Akane very clearly. Then  
her shoulders slumped slightly.  
  
"Please?" she asked in a defeated tone.  
  
Ranma honesty couldn't remember the last time she had said  
that.  
  
"Please hear me out, Ranma," Nabiki said. Her trembling  
had increased. Ranma could see that the girl was actually quite  
upset. Tears were standing in the corners of her eyes.  
  
"So what's this problem," he offered after several  
seconds. "I'm not sayin' I'll help, but if you'll tell me what's  
goin' on, maybe I'll think about it."  
  
"It's Taiyoko," Nabiki explained. "She's in a lot of  
trouble."  
  
"With her parents?" Ranma guessed.  
  
Nabiki nodded. "Her father caught her... in a awkward  
situation... with... another girl." Nabiki blushed at the  
statement.  
  
Ranma winced. "Oh geez."  
  
"It probably looked a lot worse than it really was," she  
said, "but her parents aren't exactly the most understanding  
people in the world. Both of them said some things to her that  
they really shouldn't have. Her mother threatened to send her to  
an asylum and her father told her that he's going to send her to a  
boarding school in Europe. I don't know whether either one is  
serious or not, but Taiyoko seems to think they both are."  
  
"Yikes!"  
  
"She's grounded to the house right now," Nabiki continued,  
"until her parents can make whatever arrangements they're planning  
on."  
  
"So what can I do to help?" Ranma asked a little more  
seriously. He thought that Nabiki should have come right out and  
said that Taiyoko was in trouble. He was a lot less hesitant to  
help once he knew someone he cared about genuinely needed it.  
  
"That's the hard part," Nabiki admitted. "Taiyoko's an 'A'  
student, and never gets in trouble. Besides her... preference...  
she's done nothing to be in trouble. If we can somehow convince  
her parents that she's not very serious about it, or that she's  
changed her mind, I think they'll be a lot less likely to try pack  
her away."  
  
Warning bells started to go off in Ranma's head. "Wait a  
second--"  
  
"That's why you're going to ask her out on a date," Nabiki  
cut him off. "If it's convincing enough, they'll relent."  
  
"Man, Nabiki," Ranma said seriously. "You know as well as  
I do how much can go wrong with a plan like that."  
  
"I don't know what else to do. Can you think of anything  
else?" she pleaded.  
  
"Not really," he admitted.  
  
Nabiki covered her eyes with one hand, still trembling.  
She seemed to deflate, completely out of hope.  
  
"I'll do it," Ranma said after several seconds of thought.  
"I'll probably regret it, but..."  
  
"Thank you," Nabiki said, her voice full of relief.  
  
"I'm just glad Taiyoko has a friend like you," Ranma said.  
  
Nabiki coughed once, but then nodded.  
  
After he and Nabiki sketched out a quick itinerary for the  
proposed date, Ranma sought out Akane to explain things to her.  
  
"She's gay?!" Akane shouted in obvious distaste after  
Ranma explained his plan. "Why, that no-good, lying--"  
  
"You don't have to throw a fit about it," Ranma cut his  
fiancee off. "Why're you so upset about it anyway?"  
  
"That's just not... not... just not right! She shouldn't  
be that way. It's perverted!"  
  
"Anyway, you understand why I'm gonna go on a date with  
her?" Ranma asked, a little leery of the dark-haired girl's  
reaction.  
  
Akane was visibly upset, but nodded in agreement. "It's  
her own fault her parents are so mad at her, but I guess we should  
do what we can do to help her."  
  
Ranma frowned, wondering why Akane had been set off so  
badly. She usually looked at such things at distaste, but the ugly  
look of loathing on her face was more intense than he had ever  
seen on her before.  
  
Ranma wasn't sure how Ukyou would react, but was confident  
that he could avoid her for the duration of the date. Shampoo  
wasn't likely to be a problem because she was back in China.  
Besides Akane's troubling outburst, Ranma couldn't think of  
anything that could thwart his plans.  
  
* * *  
  
On the roof of the Tendou home, Kodachi laid a finger on  
her chin in thought. The gymnast wasn't certain, but she thought  
that the girl that Akane Tendou and her Ranma-sama were discussing  
had been one of the guests at the impromptu party a few weeks ago.  
She had been distracted the entire time, waiting for Ranma-sama to  
arrive, but now that she thought about it, something *did* seem a  
little off about the girl.  
  
Of course, many things seemed odd... since the strange day  
when Ranma and the pigtailed girl seemed to... change places.  
  
Kodachi's mind shied away from the things she had seen and  
heard. It was all too much to deal with.  
  
Still, this latest development could prove problematic. It  
sounded all rather too thin to her. It was possible that this was  
nothing more than a shallowly-disguised plot to take Ranma away  
from her. Kodachi decided that she would follow along... just in  
case.  
  
* * *  
  
*ring* *ring*  
  
"Moshi-moshi?" It was Taiyoko's mother.  
  
Ranma cleared his throat and spoke as clearly as he could,  
"Is Taiyoko home?"  
  
"And this is..." the woman prompted in suspicion.  
  
"This is Ranma Saotome," he said. "I'm a friend of  
Taiyoko's. You mind if I talk to her?"  
  
"Uh... no," the woman said curiously. "I'll go get her.  
Please hold on just a second."  
  
Ranma nodded. Nabiki exhaled in relief.  
  
"Ranma?!" Taiyoko's voice asked over the phone line.  
  
"Hey, Taiyoko-chan," Ranma said. "I heard you were  
grounded."  
  
"Nabiki told you?."  
  
"Yeah--" Ranma paused, hearing a click on the phone line.  
He looked up at Nabiki, and mimed picking up a second receiver and  
holding it to his ear.  
  
Nabiki nodded in understanding. She rolled one hand,  
gesturing for Ranma to continue despite the fact that one or both  
of Taiyoko's parents were eavesdropping on their conversation.  
  
"So, at any rate, if you can get out of the house," Ranma  
improvised, "I thought maybe we could go on a date." Taiyoko was a  
sharp girl. Hopefully she would understand what they were trying  
to do without having it spelled out for her.  
  
"T-that's..." she paused for a second. "T-that would be  
wonderful," she replied. "Let me ask my parents."  
  
There were several minutes of silence over the phone line.  
Ranma did his best, but other than a few clicks, couldn't hear  
anything but a quiet, static hiss through the receiver.  
  
After a while, Taiyoko's voice returned. "My parents said  
t-that I can go out tomorrow night if it's with you," she said.  
"That's really you, right, Ranma?"  
  
"Yeah." Ranma smiled, knowing the girl was more used to  
the sound of his female voice. "I'll come get you at seven, okay?"  
  
"Hai!"  
  
After he hung up the phone, he nodded to Nabiki.  
  
"Well?"  
  
"Her parents are going to let her go out," he said in a  
conspiratorial tone.  
  
"That's a good sign," Nabiki said thankfully.  
  
"Hey, don't worry!" Ranma said. "We'll make it work out."  
  
* * *  
  
The next day, Ranma strolled up the walk to Taiyoko's  
house. He had to take a train to get there, but Nabiki had  
provided him with a fairly detailed idea of how to get to the  
house, along with a basic idea of what kinds of shops and  
restaurants were nearby. As a matter of fact, Nabiki had helped  
Ranma plan most of the date in advance.  
  
The house itself was fairly large. It must have been  
hideously expensive, especially for the high-class neighborhood it  
was located in. Ranma remembered vaguely that Taiyoko's father was  
a business of some kind and that her mother ran a catering  
service. They probably could afford it. He wondered briefly how  
such well-off people could be so harsh on their only daughter.  
  
Still, his first priority was getting Taiyoko out of  
trouble. He had some vague ideas about helping her out once she  
was no longer in danger of being sent away, but keeping her from  
suffering her parents' immediate wrath took precedence.  
  
He but on his best, most charming smile, and rang the  
doorbell.  
  
Taiyoko's mother greeted him warmly, and ushered him  
inside the huge house. She led him down an conservatively  
decorated hallway, and into a western-style sitting room, where  
Taiyoko's father was reading a newspaper.  
  
"Hey," Ranma greeted the man.  
  
Taiyoko's father shook his hand warmly, and started  
cracking jokes.  
  
Ranma may have been smiling, but inside, he couldn't help  
but remember how these same people had glared at him when he was a  
girl. It was an odd contrast, and the disparity in behavior made  
him feel almost sick to his stomach. He laughed along with the  
off-color jokes Taiyoko's father was telling even though he wanted  
to scream.  
  
Ranma turned when he heard Taiyoko's footsteps in the  
hallway behind him.  
  
She nodded and waved weakly. The girl was wearing a cute  
mini-dress and heeled shoes. Her immaculate hair and make-up  
showed evidence of quite a bit of work. Her smile was forced,  
however. She kept glancing at both her parents, her eyes seeking  
approval.  
  
"You ready to go?" Ranma prompted, thankful for the  
opportunity to leave.  
  
Taiyoko nodded without speaking.  
  
Ranma glanced once more at the girl's parents before  
leading her from the house. Both had exultant expressions on their  
face. Ranma thought that they probably misread the thankful look  
on his face as adoration. Let them, he decided. It was better for  
Taiyoko that way. As he led her down the street, his heart went  
out to the girl, wondering how she could bear to stay with people  
who hated her so much.  
  
"Nabiki t-told you what happened," Taiyoko guessed as they  
made their way across the neighborhood.  
  
Ranma nodded. "It must have been pretty embarrassing,  
huh?"  
  
Taiyoko nodded, brightly blushing. "It.... I hope... T-  
t--"  
  
"Hey, it's okay! I know all about it!" Ranma assured her.  
"You have more or less a general idea of what we're trying to  
accomplish?"  
  
"Nabiki told me that she might try something like this if  
something ever happened. I never realized it would be you,  
though," Taiyoko admitted. "Wow..."  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
Taiyoko blinked, looking away from Ranma, even though  
their arms were intertwined. "I still can't get over how different  
you look as a man. It's just like the pictures you showed me."  
  
"Yeah," Ranma agreed, unsure of how to react to Taiyoko's  
statement. "I'm still the same guy inside," he assured her.  
Realizing what he had just said, he hastily amended, "Or... I  
guess that probably wasn't the best thing to say."  
  
"No!" Taiyoko assured him. "It's just fine. You're a  
wonderful friend, regardless."  
  
"Just less appealing this way," Ranma guessed.  
  
"I don't like this," Taiyoko agreed, admitting her  
discomfort. "But I know it's necessary."  
  
"Maybe more than you think," Ranma said suspiciously as  
they passed in front of the first shop near Taiyoko's home.  
  
"What?"  
  
Ranma paused near the glass window of a dress shop and  
pointed at a sequined purse. When Taiyoko was staring at it,  
wondering what was going on in her friend's head, Ranma raised his  
finger to point at a reflection in the glass.  
  
"Don't look behind you," Ranma whispered.  
  
Taiyoko's eyes widened in horror as she realized she could  
see both her parents in the reflection as they darted inside a  
shop across the street.  
  
"What will we do?" she asked in terror.  
  
"We'll have a wonderful date," Ranma told her, a smile on  
his face. "And we'll play it to the hilt for our audience.  
Actually, this might make our evening a little easier. If your  
parents see how devoted your new 'boyfriend' is, maybe they'll lay  
off you a little bit."  
  
"Maybe," Taiyoko said dubiously. "It couldn't hurt."  
  
  
* * *  
  
On the roof of a shop on the other side of the square,  
Kodachi Kunou waited patiently, wondering how long Ranma and the  
insipid girl hanging all over him would be about browsing the  
endless little shops that lined both sides of the street.  
  
She shifted positions uncomfortably, gravel from the roof  
digging into her mostly-uncovered bottom through the fabric of her  
leotard.  
  
The only mitigating factor to her ordeal was the idiotic  
little comedy proceeding below. Her Ranma-sama was being trailed  
by two poorly disguised idiots, no doubt the parents of the girl  
he was helping. Ranma obviously knew they were there, because he  
kept his movements wide and open, overacting each affectionate  
gesture or comment, hamming it up as if he were on stage. He and  
his friend would move along from shop to shop, only to be followed  
a few seconds later by their obtrusive tails.  
  
As of fact, Kodachi felt no compunction to try to stay  
well hidden as she was capable of because she knew that the pair  
below were so distracting that Ranma and his friend would never  
notice her.  
  
As she drifted from rooftop to rooftop keeping up with  
Ranma-sama and his 'date', Kodachi decided wasn't sure about the  
girl yet, but that it was obvious to her that at least Ranma  
believed that he was helping her in the manner Kodachi overheard.  
  
* * *  
  
"Here," Ranma said, handing a pretty scarf he just bought  
to Taiyoko. "A gift."  
  
Taiyoko looked warmly at the scarf and her friend. "Thank  
you, Ranma!" she said, embracing him warmly.  
  
Ranma shrugged, a little embarrassed by the girl's  
gratitude. "I'm glad you like it, but it's for show, mostly.  
Nabiki gave me the money to buy it."  
  
Taiyoko went misty-eyed for a second. "Oh..." she  
breathed.  
  
"Yeah," Ranma agreed. "She's being a really good friend."  
  
"She really is," Taiyoko said. "A truly wonderful person."  
  
"I wouldn't go that far," Ranma noted dryly.  
  
"She always takes such good care of me."  
  
After walking through the shopping district, Ranma  
suggested they go to a nearby park. Taiyoko had calmed  
considerably after she managed to make the mental leap from 'date'  
to a fun outing with one of her good friends. She even seemed to  
get into the deception of her parents, who were doing their best  
to stay hidden a few dozen paces behind the pair.  
  
Once inside, Taiyoko pointed at the couples riding swan-  
shaped pedal boats on the large pond in the middle of the park.  
  
"Do you know how bad an idea that is?" Ranma asked  
incredulously.  
  
"Why?" Taiyoko was genuinely curious.  
  
"Well, I change with hot and cold water, right?"  
  
"Yes..."  
  
"Well... that's a whole lot of cold water. I bet sex-  
changing martial artists would upset your parents even more than  
other girls."  
  
Taiyoko blushed at Ranma's statement, but nodded in  
agreement.  
  
"How about that?" the martial artist suggested, gesturing  
at a booth where an old man was sketching couples.  
  
"I think that would work," Taiyoko said. "It seems very  
romantic, doesn't it?"  
  
After the two got their picture drawn, Ranma led Taiyoko  
away from the park and back into the shopping district. They  
stopped at an outdoor cafe and made a very obvious show of  
ordering one milkshake with two straws. Even the waiter gagged on  
that one.  
  
After the sun went down, the pair strolled around, looking  
at the lights and gazing at the distant Tokyo skyline.  
  
"Are they still following us?" Taiyoko asked after several  
minutes of silence between the two.  
  
Ranma nodded, not even bothering to look for the pair. He  
could hear them rustling around in the shrubbery about fifty  
meters behind.  
  
"I t-thought t-they would be gone by now," the blonde girl  
noted in a worried tone. "Do you t-t-think they suspect."  
  
"I wouldn't worry about it," Ranma told her. "They're  
probably convinced, and are just being nosy now."  
  
"But what if t-they're not?" Taiyoko worried out loud.  
"What if t-t-they know already? My father's going t-t-t-to st-t-  
tart hitting me again--"  
  
"Hitting you?!" Ranma demanded incredulously.  
  
"--and my mother's going t-t-t-to send me a way and I'll  
never get t-t-t-t-- I'll never get t-t-to see--"  
  
Ranma considered his options for several seconds before  
making what he considered to be a tactical battle decision.  
Taiyoko was rapidly becoming incoherent with her stuttering and  
stammering. If she got much worse, she risked giving them away and  
ruining the deception they spent all afternoon building.  
  
He silenced her stammers with a kiss.  
  
Their lips met. Taiyoko was shocked at first, her eyes  
open wide in horror and disgust, until she realized that Ranma's  
eyes were open as well.  
  
Ranma did his best to convey his apology and intentions  
with his expression, darting his eyes back towards the distant  
shrubbery once.  
  
Taiyoko seemed to understand what he was doing. After a  
few seconds of stunned silence, she started woodenly returning the  
kiss. After a few more seconds, she closed her eyes.  
  
* * *  
  
The little slut was kissing her Ranma-sama! Kodachi was  
outraged. She leapt down from her perch, preparing to strangle the  
tramp with her ribbon.  
  
She was almost ten paces away before she saw the look of  
horror and self-loathing on the blonde girl's features.  
  
Kodachi stopped, and leapt up into a nearby tree just  
before she struck, examining the two a little more carefully.  
  
Neither looked very comfortable. Ranma's expression was  
stony and resolute. The blonde girl, Kodachi thought her name was  
Taiyoko, actually had tears standing in the corners of her eyes.  
It was hard to tell, but Kodachi thought that neither her Ranma-  
sama nor the girl he was helping liked what they were doing very  
much.  
  
There was none of the excitement that Kodachi always  
thought would surround such an illicit kiss. The atmosphere  
between the two was tense, but it was strained and showed no  
arousal.  
  
Kodachi suddenly realized that everything she had  
overheard was true.  
  
Her anger shifted from the blonde girl to the pair she  
could see smirking at the spectacle in the bushes behind her  
Ranma-sama. She began to grow frustrated with the sheer amount of  
time she had spent spying on this hapless duo.  
  
In irritation and disgust, Kodachi leapt from treetop to  
treetop, away from the gruesome spectacle. It was just too much to  
bear!  
  
* * *  
  
"Do you t-think they saw?" Taiyoko asked after their lips  
parted.  
  
"I think everyone on this side of town saw," Ranma noted.  
"They're certainly paying very close attention right now. I'm  
sorry."  
  
"Don't be," Taiyoko pleaded. "I understand why you did it.  
We can do it again if you think it will help."  
  
"Let's not get too carried away just yet," Ranma said,  
carefully judging the distance between them and the spies. "If I'm  
right, that sort of thing usually happens around the end of a  
date, so why don't I walk you home? They'll have to run on ahead  
if they want to be there when you show up."  
  
Taiyoko nodded nervously. "Still... it wouldn't hurt if  
you were..." she gulped, "you were a little more... touchy."  
  
"I will," Ranma offered. "If you really think it would  
help."  
  
"Boy or girl, you're one of my best friends," she  
rationalized. "I won't be upset if you put your hands on me...  
just a little bit."  
  
Ranma nodded. With a warm smile, he wrapped his arm around  
the girl's waist and pulled her close to him as they walked along.  
  
"Are they gone yet?" she asked after a few minutes.  
  
Ranma shook his head.  
  
By the time they reached Taiyoko's house, Ranma's left arm  
was around her slender waist and his right hand rested familiarly  
on her hip. Taiyoko grew more and more upset when it became  
apparent that her parents intended to follow them all the way  
back.  
  
Indeed, it appeared that the two had no intention of  
trying to end their feeble deception.  
  
"Please, please don't leave me alone," Taiyoko pleaded as  
she unlocked her front door. "If you leave me, t-they'll send me  
off t-tomorrow."  
  
Ranma doubted the veracity of the girl's fears, but  
decided to do his best to comfort her. He smiled and followed her  
inside.  
  
She seemed to calm a bit once they were inside the dimly-  
lit front room.  
  
"I bet that your dates are usually a lot more normal than  
this," she said, sitting down on a sofa facing the front picture  
window.  
  
"You'd be surprised," Ranma said. "Went on a date with  
Akane once, but she was dressed up as a guy. Went on a date with  
Nabiki, but ended up on a date with Akane. I'm still not sure how  
that happened. Went on a date with Kodachi, but I got trampled by  
cows."  
  
Taiyoko giggled out loud. "You're kidding!"  
  
"I wish! I even went on a date with Kunou, but that was  
because I was trying to cure my curse with some magic sword he  
found. I've been on lots of dates with Ryouga, but it's always  
because of a fight. You haven't been hugged until you've been  
squeezed by a guy strong enough to break rocks with his bare  
hands."  
  
"That's horrible," Taiyoko laughed.  
  
"But true. This is the most normal date I've ever had,"  
Ranma admitted, sitting next to her. "If things were a little  
different, maybe--" He froze, hearing muffled swearing just  
outside the window.  
  
"Maybe what? Ranma?"  
  
"Dammit. They're in the bushes now."  
  
Taiyoko froze, going stiff against Ranma.  
  
"Do you really think your dad is going to hit you?" Ranma  
asked in a serious, whispered tone.  
  
Taiyoko was silent, but started shaking.  
  
"I can stop him," Ranma offered, "easily. I'll do anything  
you want me to."  
  
"Kiss me again," Taiyoko said, her voice tremulous with  
fear.  
  
"If they aren't gonna come in--"  
  
"Please," she begged. "Don't let them send me away!"  
  
Ranma nodded, and took the girl in his arms. He kissed her  
gently, and held her close. He could feel her shivering against  
him.  
  
In truth, Ranma felt a little like shivering himself. What  
they were doing was getting more and more dangerous, but more and  
more stimulating at the same time. Ranma thought that the best way  
to handle the situation was probably something other than what  
they were doing, but for the life of him, he was having a hard  
time thinking of anything else that could be done.  
  
"Like this?" he asked, gently caressing Taiyoko's neck.  
  
The blonde girl nodded, leaning into his embrace. He was  
quite surprised when she began to lightly place kisses along the  
side of his neck. It was all part of the deception, he understood,  
but it still made every hair on his body want to stand up. He  
tightened his embrace, and began to return Taiyoko's light kisses.  
  
Ranma noted that the simulation they were creating had  
caused the rustling in the bushes outside to stop. He hadn't seen  
or heard anything to make him think that the girl's parents had  
quit spying on them, but it was a good sign. Perhaps they were  
deciding that Taiyoko was not so 'abnormal' as they thought.  
  
Ranma suddenly realized that if that were the case, it  
would probably mean that he would have to maintain the fiction  
that he was dating Taiyoko in order to protect her. It was both a  
repugnant notion and an interesting proposition at the same time.  
It almost seemed as if what he was doing was justified. He  
wondered about this as he kissed Taiyoko again, sucking on her  
lips briefly.  
  
Her eyes widened for a second in surprise, but she started  
to return Ranma's ministrations after just a couple seconds. "Do  
you think they'll believe this?" she asked warily.  
  
"Maybe."  
  
If he did have an excuse to continue, would Taiyoko want  
him to? He wondered about this. In his mind, Ranma thought he knew  
what Taiyoko's preference meant. After all, hadn't he been through  
almost the same thing?  
  
As a girl, Ranma's body didn't seem to care. She reacted  
the same way to a touch whether or not it belonged to Kunou,  
Hiroshi, Nabiki, or Shampoo. Her mind, on the other hand, knew  
what was really going on. She was repulsed by the affections of  
her male suitors, no matter how much her body wanted her to let  
them have their way.  
  
Did Taiyoko feel the same way right now? Was her body  
telling her that what was happening was enjoyable and exciting?  
  
"Why aren't t-they going away?" she whispered, her  
shivering increasing. Ranma could see that her eyes were full of  
fear and defeat.  
  
"I don't know," he admitted.  
  
"We haven't done enough yet," she said, grabbing Ranma's  
hands and placing them at the top of her dress. "Here."  
  
Ranma suddenly realized what she wanted him to do.  
  
Gently, carefully, he began to unbutton Taiyoko's dress.  
  
"Please leave..." he heard her whisper under her breath.  
  
The buttons were close together and were a little hard to  
unfasten. Ranma's shaking hands only complicated the problem.  
Soon, however, he had exposed her torso as far down as her navel.  
Trying to quell the shaking, he let his fingers run across her  
smooth, pale flesh.  
  
He kissed her again, and let his fingers close around the  
strap of her lace brassiere.  
  
Did at least some part of Taiyoko want this? Was some part  
of her singing out, even as Ranma had done when she dreamed about  
making love to Ryouga, or when Kunou kissed her? Was some small  
fraction of his frightened friend waiting for him to make the next  
move?  
  
Ranma pulled the strap off Taiyoko's shoulder, allowing it  
to hang loosely against her arm. Still kissing her, his fingertips  
slid across the textured fabric until they rested on the soft  
swell of the girl's breast.  
  
With an almost indeliberate motion, he began to squeeze,  
cupping her slightly. He could suddenly feel her nipple stiffening  
against his touch, even through the lace. Ranma became bolder,  
squeezing more firmly, and even kneading a little bit.  
  
Carefully, deliberately, he shifted his grip until it was  
resting on the length of lace stretched in between the two cups.  
The brassier was fastened there by a small metallic clasp.  
  
A few of the bras Ranma had worn as a girl in the past had  
worked the same way. Ranma had no trouble working the tiny catch.  
  
Taiyoko inhaled sharply as her assets were exposed but  
made no other noise.  
  
Ranma stared. Taiyoko's breasts were small... smaller even  
than Akane's. They were perfectly shaped, however, each about the  
size of a large plum or a small peach. Her nipples were tiny and  
red. Each one was stiffened, protruding a centimeter or so. They  
seemed to drive all the way into Ranma's brain.  
  
At the same time, he realized that they had twisted on the  
sofa until one of her legs had wrapped behind him. He could feel  
her knee at his side and her heel in the small of his back.  
  
Breathing hard, Ranma leaned in and began to suck gently  
at the base of her neck, his lips and tongue seeking out her  
flesh. He held her close with one arm and began to cup her breast  
again with the other hand. His fingertips sought out her erect  
nipples, and began to tweak them ever-so-gently.  
  
His kisses began to move downward, until his lips were  
actually on her other breast. From there, it was only a few more  
centimeters until they brushed her nipple. Ranma closed his mouth  
on her, and began to lightly suck, occasionally lapping at the  
taut flesh of her areola.  
  
Taiyoko gasped at the sensation and made a quiet squeak.  
Her trembling had increased until Ranma felt the need to hold her  
as tightly as he could.  
  
His hand began to roam down her back, and onto her hip. He  
caressed the length of her thigh, and began to slide his hands up  
under her dress. Her legs were spread apart in order to  
accommodate Ranma, so his fingers didn't have any trouble sliding  
his fingers down the front of her panties. He could feel the soft  
tuft of hair on her mound.  
  
"Why aren't t-they going away?" Taiyoko cried. "I've done  
so much and t-t-they're still watching. Why?!"  
  
Ranma's body froze, just as his fingers ran across the  
very top of Taiyoko's cleft, about to spread her nether lips  
apart. He realized that he wanted to touch her there... to slide  
his fingers across the sensitive nub of flesh he knew all girls  
had. He wanted to touch her in the most private and personal way  
possible, regardless of how she felt about that touch.  
  
He was startled by how quickly things had progressed.  
Uncertain, he looked up into her eyes for guidance.  
  
Tears were rolling down her cheeks. Taiyoko's expression  
was utterly defeated and humiliated. There was no trace of the  
arousal or need that Ranma knew decorated his own features. There  
was just fear...  
  
Fear of him, and what he was about to do.  
  
"Taiyoko..."  
  
"Please don't stop now," she begged. "Maybe if t-they see  
it, t-they'll leave me alone. Please, Ranma."  
  
"But..." Ranma realized that his skin felt like it was on  
fire. He was suddenly very aware of how hard he was, and that his  
member was poking into Taiyoko's hip, even though the fabric of  
her pants.  
  
"It... It has t-t-to happen sometime, right?" Taiyoko  
cried. "I mean, sooner or later, it will have to happen. At least  
t-this way, it's... it's... a friend... someone who cares about  
me..."  
  
A strained sob caught in the girl's throat, but she  
clapped her mouth shut and clenched her teeth. She turned her face  
upwards to the ceiling.  
  
Ranma was shaking. He was so close! It seemed like  
everything in the world that really mattered at that moment was  
under his hands.  
  
"I'm sorry, he said. Gently, Ranma pulled his hand out of  
Taiyoko's panties and tried to get up. He kneeled on the couch at  
first, surprised at how weak his knees were. Then he stood. "I  
can't do this," he told her.  
  
It was a lie, and Ranma knew it. He *could* do it. He  
wanted to do it. In fact, quite a large portion of his mind and  
body was demanding that he do so. He had to struggle to keep from  
kneeling back down and falling upon Taiyoko's body like a ravening  
wolf.  
  
"No," Taiyoko begged, scrambling across the sofa to Ranma.  
She wiped her eyes on her sleeve. "Please don't let them send me  
away. I'll stop crying, I promise!"  
  
"No." Ranma said more firmly. He felt sick to his stomach.  
It was almost physically painful. "No, because even if we do, it  
would just cause more problems. It wouldn't be just this once...  
It couldn't be. It would be every time your parents got upset. I  
don't want that."  
  
He did want that. He wanted it so badly that he could  
smell her. He knew that would ruin any chance that either of them  
would ever have.  
  
"Pleasepleaseplease..." Taiyoko bawled.  
  
Forcefully, Ranma pushed her away and pulled the front of  
her dress back together.  
  
Angrily, he turned away from her and strode to the front  
door.  
  
Taiyoko's parents were kneeling in front of the bushes,  
starting obscenely into the darkness, trying to see what was going  
on. With a sick feeling, Ranma realized that they probably  
couldn't see very much of what had went on through the dark  
window.  
  
Very briefly, Ranma wondered about the upperclassmen girl  
he had spied on several weeks ago. He wondered what she would have  
felt if she had known she was being spied upon.  
  
They both heard the front door open when Ranma stepped out  
and started in surprised. They and were about to scramble away to  
hide again, but panicked when they realized Ranma had seen them.  
They froze, even though Ranma leapt directly at them. After only a  
second, Taiyoko's mother turned and tried to bolt. She was brought  
up short when Ranma roughly grabbed her by the collar of her  
ridiculous-looking overcoat.  
  
"What the hell are you doing?!" Taiyoko's father demanded  
angrily. "Unhand my wife right now!"  
  
"You can just shut the hell up, asshole," Ranma swore,  
grabbing Taiyoko's father in the same manner.  
  
"I'll call the police!" the man threatened.  
  
"You do that," Ranma agreed, "and I'll tell them all about  
how you've been beating your daughter and threatening to throw her  
out."  
  
"No, Ranma!" Taiyoko pleaded, rushing out the front door.  
Holding her dress closed with one hand, she dropped to her knees  
in front of Ranma, and grasped him around the waist in  
supplication. "Things are bad enough already. Please don't make it  
any worse."  
  
"You hit Taiyoko?" her mother asked, incredulously.  
  
"Like you're any better," Ranma accused. "So your  
daughter's a little different. There ain't nothin' wrong with her  
at all, yet you still threatened to send her to a loony bin."  
  
"That's none of your business!" the woman screeched. "I  
had hoped that Taiyoko had finally found acceptable friends, but  
now I see how badly I was mistaken."  
  
It was with will alone that Ranma resisted the urge the  
violently shake the woman. Instead, he let both of them drop to  
the ground, and stood over them. Angrily, Taiyoko's father leapt  
to his feet, and took a swing at Ranma.  
  
The martial artist didn't even bother to dodge the weak,  
ineffective punch. He let his head rock slightly with the mild  
blow to his cheek.  
  
"Ranma! Father, no!" Taiyoko screamed.  
  
While the man's punch had almost no effect on Ranma, the  
backhand slap he directed thoughtlessly at his daughter's face  
knocked the girl down.  
  
"Stay out of this!" he growled. He turned back to Ranma  
and threw another punch at the martial artist. Again, Ranma let  
the man's fist connect, and rocked with the blow. It didn't even  
really hurt. Before the man could make a third punch, Ranma caught  
the man's fist in his own hand and began to squeeze.  
  
Taiyoko's father tried to pull his fist back away, but  
couldn't break free of Ranma's crushing grip. For the first time,  
a flicker of fear crossed his face.  
  
"I could squish you like a bug," Ranma noted derisively,  
throwing the man's hand down. "But I'm not even going to bother.  
You're not worth it."  
  
"Get out of here." the man commanded.  
  
"Do you even have any idea what just went on?" Ranma  
asked, ignoring him. "Do you have any clue at all?" he demanded,  
turning to address Taiyoko's mother, who was watching the whole  
scene in growing horror. "Do you have any notion of what your  
daughter was willing to give up just so that the two of you would  
quit hounding her?"  
  
"What we do with our daughter is our own business,"  
Taiyoko's father said coldly. "And the only thing that's going to  
stop our 'hounding', as you put it, is for her to grow up and get  
over her sick perversion. You're obviously not helping, so get out  
now, before I call the police!"  
  
"Okay," Ranma said. "I'll go. You'll never see me again.  
Get up, Taiyoko. We're going."  
  
"What?" she sobbed, still lying on the ground.  
  
"You just heard 'em, Taiyoko-chan. They ain't never gonna  
let up. No amount of play-acting is gonna make 'em happy. You  
could screw a thousand guys, and the second you show any affection  
at all to another woman, they'll send you away or hit you again."  
  
"It's not like that," Taiyoko protested, scrabbling to her  
knees.  
  
"Ain't it?" Ranma asked, his voice rising in anger. "Tell  
me you really don't think that's gonna be the case. Tell me that  
some day, you don't think they're gonna push you into marrying  
some guy you could care less about, and that on your wedding day,  
you'll be laying there just like you were tonight, hoping it  
doesn't hurt too much when he fucks you! Tell me!"  
  
Taiyoko broke down into voiceless sobs again.  
  
"Are you gonna be happy with that, Taiyoko?" Ranma asked  
seriously. "Is your entire life worth making your mom and dad  
happy?"  
  
He knelt down next to her, and took her hand.  
  
"You've caused enough damage already!" the older man  
accused. He backed off when Ranma glared over at him over his  
shoulder.  
  
"It's not going to get any better, Taiyoko," Ranma said.  
"Do you even need me to tell you that?"  
  
The girl shook her head, unable to look up in her grief  
and pain.  
  
Ranma helped her to her feet. "Go get some stuff," he  
said. "And I'll take you back to the dojo. I'm certain the Tendous  
won't mind helping you out. Nabiki will probably have some great  
ideas."  
  
"You really t-think so?" Taiyoko asked, her eyes lighting  
up at the mention of Nabiki's name.  
  
Ranma nodded, smiling warmly.  
  
The girl ran back into the house. Ranma kept her parents  
from running after her by the simple expedient of standing between  
them and the doorway and glaring menacingly the entire time.  
  
Taiyoko came out just a few seconds later, carrying a few  
dresses, an overnight bag, and a stuffed doll. She ran past her  
parents, unable to meet their eyes.  
  
Taiyoko's mother turned to try to catch up with her, but  
Ranma leapt in front of her.  
  
"No," he commanded. "I ain't gonna let either of you hurt  
her any more. Taiyoko's a big girl, and she made the right  
decision. I'll die before I let you unmake it for her."  
  
"What right do you have to take our daughter away,  
faggot?!" Her father asked in rage and sorrow.  
  
Ranma paused, suddenly seeing the face of the man who  
attacked Makuna-sensei. Did he really think that Ranma was...  
  
Ranma shook his head. It didn't even really matter.  
  
"No right at all. I ain't the one taking her away, though.  
She's the one who's leaving. Remember that," he told them.  
"Remember that you drove her away. Nobody else could do that. It  
was the two of you!"  
  
"Fine," Taiyoko's father screamed after his daughter in  
impotent rage. "Run away, you crazy little whore. If you leave  
now, you'll never set foot in my house again!"  
  
"Nuhuh!" Ranma said, holding his fist up. "You can stop  
that right now. And if you ever do try to come after her or hit  
her again, I'll hurt you. I'll make you understand exactly what it  
is you've done to her. You understand me?"  
  
Without waiting for an answer from either one of them,  
Ranma turned and took off after his friend.  
  
  
* * *  
  
The trek home was fairly long, but Ranma did his best to  
comfort Taiyoko on the train ride. She cried endlessly, staining  
his shirt.  
  
It was difficult, however, having her so close to him. He  
was still very much attracted to the girl. He still wanted her,  
but knew that it would never... could never... happen.  
  
By the time he got her back to the Tendou's house, it was  
after midnight.  
  
Nabiki was waiting, her eyes wide with worry. Both Akane  
and Kasumi were also up, so Ranma explained that Taiyoko's father  
had hit her. Kasumi assured the girl that she could stay as long  
as she needed to.  
  
Finally, Nabiki got both Ranma and Taiyoko alone in her  
room to ask what really happened.  
  
After Ranma gave a brief description of the evening,  
glossing over the details of the simulated makeout session that  
had almost become too real, Nabiki glared darkly at him.  
  
"If you had just walked her home, it would have been  
okay!" she accused.  
  
"Maybe it would have been," Ranma said. "But maybe her dad  
woulda beat the shit out of her again. Maybe I don't wanna see my  
friends hurt for no reason."  
  
Nabiki deflated somewhat, but still glared darkly at  
Ranma. She took a deep breath, and glanced at Taiyoko, who looked  
pretty sheepish about the whole ordeal. "Well, it can't be helped.  
This complicates things, but it's not completely unsalvageable."  
  
"That's good," Ranma agreed. "Do you mind letting Taiyoko  
stay in your room?"  
  
"Of course I don't mind."  
  
After he left the two of them alone, Ranma went back to  
his own room, noting in passing that his parents seemed to be gone  
again on the way down the hallway. He was tired, and emotionally  
exhausted. More than anything else, he wanted to lie down.  
  
After tossing and turning for about a half hour, he  
realized how aroused he still was. Even the fight with Taiyoko's  
parents hadn't made his erection go away. Worse, the whole time  
they sat together on the train, Ranma held the girl's body close  
to his own as a gesture of comfort.  
  
Ranma started to wonder what it would have been like if he  
had taken her somewhere private after they got off the train. What  
would it have felt like if he had taken her body, there on her  
parents' sofa?  
  
Of course the fact he knew intellectually about Taiyoko's  
preferences didn't mean that his body didn't still long for her.  
  
After a short while thinking about Taiyoko's slender body  
and the way it felt under his hands, Ranma was more aroused than  
he was tired. He realized that there was no help for his situation  
but another 'long bath'.  
  
Sighing in resignment, but secretly looking forward to  
what was about to happen, he went looking for a towel.  
  
* * *  
  
The bathroom was steamy. The gas burners that heated the  
furo were turned almost all the way up, sending streams of vapor  
coiling through the room. It condensed on the cold tile walls and  
made them slick and wet. The two people in the furo, however, were  
warm and comfortable.  
  
"Are you sure you're okay?" Nabiki asked.  
  
"Of course I'm okay, Nabiki. I have you and Ranma to take  
care of me, after all!"  
  
"You're acting a lot more cheerful than you look."  
  
"I'm trying not to think about it."  
  
"That bad, huh? Are you okay, Taiyoko-chan?"  
  
The blonde girl nodded, sighing deeply.  
  
"Did he hurt you?" Nabiki asked seriously.  
  
"It hurt a little when he slapped me, but I was more  
afraid than anything else."  
  
"I meant Ranma."  
  
Taiyoko was silent for several seconds. The only sound  
either girl could hear was the slow, but steady dripping of water  
from the shower nozzle.  
  
"Ranma... Ranma did what I asked him to."  
  
"You didn't actually--"  
  
"No!" Taiyoko cut her off. "But... he could have. I could  
tell that he wanted to. I think I would have let him if it meant  
that my parents wouldn't try to keep us apart anymore."  
  
Nabiki sighed. "Ranma was correct about one thing. Your  
parents probably wouldn't have let up on you any more just because  
they saw you playing around with a boy. If anything, it would have  
made matters worse. I guess what he finally did was the right  
thing. It's going to complicate things, but..."  
  
"Are you mad at me?"  
  
"Of course I'm not mad at you. You'll have to make it up  
to me, though."  
  
"Oh?" Taiyoko asked, a tone of interest entering her  
voice.  
  
There was a splash of water as Nabiki moved around behind  
Taiyoko. Two pale knees poked up on either side of the blonde  
girl, and Nabiki's hands surfaced briefly around Taiyoko's waist.  
  
"Oh..." Taiyoko noted in a breathy tone. She leaned her  
head back against Nabiki's shoulder.  
  
The dark-haired girl dropped her head slightly, allowing  
her lips to brush Taiyoko's cheek.  
  
There was another splash.  
  
"Oh... ohhh..."  
  
"So... what was it like?" Nabiki demanded in a mischievous  
tone. "Having Ranma paw all over you, I mean."  
  
"Frightening. I didn't like the way it made me feel at  
all. Ranma's one of the nicest people I know... besides you of  
course... so it wasn't as bad as it could have been. It still  
makes me shudder when I think about where he put his mouth on me."  
  
"I'm so sorry. I never intended for this to hurt you."  
  
"It's okay. You just wanted to keep them from sending me  
away, and Ranma was doing his best too. All I want now is to  
forget that it happened."  
  
"I may be able to help with that," Nabiki said.  
  
"Oh? Oh!" Taiyoko squeaked.  
  
Nabiki chuckled evilly. The water began to slosh around in  
the furo again.  
  
"Oh! Stop it!" Taiyoko giggled. "No... don't stop..."  
  
"Mmmmm..."  
  
Nabiki leaned a little further over and placed her lips  
against Taiyoko's. As the two began to kiss, Nabiki's hand came up  
out of the water, slowly sliding up Taiyoko's wet abdomen. Her  
other hand slid down even further under the water.  
  
Taiyoko's knees rose up out of the water, spread far apart  
as she could get them.  
  
"You like that?" Nabiki asked, breaking the kiss for just  
a second.  
  
"It feels... Oh... Ohhhhh... Please, Nabiki..."  
  
"Please what?"  
  
"Please... please don't stop..."  
  
"Never," Nabiki assured her.  
  
"Ohhhh.... Ohhhhhh!"  
  
Then the door slid open. Stirred by the cool air from  
outside the room, the misty fog dissipated.  
  
Ranma was standing in the doorway, a towel hanging around  
his waist. His mouth worked up and down soundlessly as he stared  
at the two girls.  
  
Taiyoko's entire body blushed. Nabiki started to glare.  
  
"Do you mind?" the dark-haired girl finally said. "Or are  
you going to stare at us all night?  
  
Ranma turned and fled.  
  
-----  
  
~to be continued... 


	18. Screaming

Ranma and his friends belong to Rumiko Takahashi. They're used  
here without permission.  
  
This story contains some adult material. Reader discretion is  
advised.  
  
------------------------------  
  
The door slid open. Stirred by the cool air from outside the  
room, the misty fog dissipated.  
  
Ranma was standing in the doorway, a towel hanging around his  
waist. His mouth worked up and down soundlessly as he stared at the  
two girls.  
  
Taiyoko's entire body blushed. Nabiki started to glare.  
  
"Do you mind?" the dark-haired girl finally said. "Or are you  
going to stare at us all night?  
  
Ranma turned and fled.  
  
------------------------------  
newRanma 18: Screaming  
  
by Chris Jones  
------------------------------  
  
The image burned Ranma's mind.  
  
Nabiki and Taiyoko were sitting in the furo together, their  
lips locked together in a passionate kiss. The dark-haired girl  
gently cradled the light-haired girl. Nabiki's hands played over  
Taiyoko's body, caressing every inch. One hand worked lower, under  
the surface of the water, sending ripples spreading away from  
Taiyoko's mid-section. Ranma couldn't help but think that Nabiki was  
doing to Taiyoko what Ranma planned to do for himself.  
  
What the two girls were doing could only be called 'sex'.  
  
The image burned Ranma's body.  
  
He had already been aroused, both from a combination of the  
time he spent earlier in the evening with Taiyoko and the time he  
just spent wondering what actually making love to the young woman  
would feel like.  
  
Now he was shaking and stumbling against the wall as he  
staggered back to his room. His hands seemed palsied as he tried to  
open the door. His knees were weak and didn't seem to want to support  
his weight.  
  
Once inside, he collapsed on his futon. His eyes were  
clenched shut, but that didn't stop the image from looping over and  
over in his mind. Every sound Ranma heard was permanently etched into  
his mind. Every square inch of Nabiki's and Taiyoko's bodies were  
indelibly engraved onto his retina. He couldn't not see them, even if  
he wanted to.  
  
Hours passed for Ranma as he lay on his futon, unable and  
unwilling to forget what he had seen. Even sleep wasn't an option.  
All the half-clues and hints finally fell into place in his mind. He  
thought he had seen the entire puzzle before, but the secret was more  
vast and maddening than he thought possible.  
  
How could he have missed it? How could he have been so blind?  
Taiyoko even tried to tell him, but he had shushed her, assuring her  
that he already knew!  
  
As the minutes ticked by, however, one thought began to stand  
out from the rest. One thought brought him to his knees and  
eventually put him on his feet. That same thought sent him staggering  
back down the stairs and into the bathroom, which had been vacant for  
quite some time. The thought sent him back up the stairs, where he  
opened the door to Nabiki's room without knocking, and stormed  
inside.  
  
There they were, laying side by side on Nabiki's bed.  
Taiyoko's face was turned away from Ranma and the steady, gentle rise  
and fall of her chest indicated that she had been asleep for some  
time. Nabiki was facing Ranma but she wasn't asleep. Her eyes were  
open and it looked as if she wasn't particularly surprised that Ranma  
had stormed in.  
  
Those eyes boring into him, Ranma finally gave voice to the  
thought that plagued him.  
  
"Why wasn't it me?!" he demanded in a tone so full of emotion  
that he couldn't believe it came from his mouth.  
  
Nabiki stirred, and slowly set up in bed.  
  
Why wasn't it me, he had asked her. She had known that the  
question was coming. It was evident in his hot, probing eyes when he  
had first seen her and Taiyoko together. It was evident in his  
stance. It was even evident in his hurt, needing expression. She  
could see that as far as Ranma was concerned, it should have been him  
there in the furo, holding one... or even both of the girls.  
  
Why wasn't it him?  
  
Nabiki asked herself that same question over and over again  
to try to prepare for this moment. She had answered the question a  
dozen ways in her own mind, but still wasn't satisfied with the  
answer. The words that came out of her mouth surprised her.  
  
"What? You think you can turn me down over and over again,  
and then call me back whenever you want me?"  
  
She realized after she said it that there was no helping what  
was going to happen next. Ranma's expression shattered. She could see  
the wave of pain and betrayal cross Ranma's features like wind in  
tall grass.  
  
"It doesn't work like that, Saotome," she hissed. "You can't  
just toy with a girl's affections and expect her to follow you around  
like a puppy. Oh wait, I forgot... every other girl follows you  
around like that, so why shouldn't I?"  
  
"Toy with *your* affections?" Ranma shouted incredulously,  
ignoring Nabiki's hurtful barb. "What about you? You think I asked  
for any of the things you did to me?"  
  
"Keep your voice down," Nabiki commanded, but it was already  
too late.  
  
"Nabiki?" Taiyoko asked in a quiet, sleepy voice. "What's  
wrong?"  
  
Ranma was no less aroused, but was now quite angry. He felt  
it earlier, when he confronted Taiyoko's parents, but now there  
seemed to be no outlet for his dark feelings.  
  
"How could you treat me like that?" Ranma finally demanded.  
"Did you think that I didn't want to? Did you think that I didn't  
like what you were doing to me?"  
  
"You had your chance, Ranma!" Nabiki growled. "Now go away  
before you cause even more problems."  
  
"What are you talking about, Nabiki?" Taiyoko asked in a  
worried tone, sitting up in bed next to the girl and pulling the  
comforter up under her chin.  
  
"Yeah, I had my chance... so long as Akane, Ukyou, or Kodachi  
didn't walk in on us," Ranma snapped back. "I thought--"  
  
"You thought what, Ranma?" Nabiki demanded. "You thought you  
could have me, and keep all your other girlfriends just hanging on?  
God, how could I have even been so stupid to think that you really  
had become a woman?"  
  
"B-b-become a--" Ranma stammered, finally... totally  
understanding.  
  
"That's right, Ranma," Nabiki said. "I mean... you had me  
fooled, and that's not easy. I'd like to think I'm too intelligent  
for that but apparently I was blind."  
  
"You wanted me to be a..."  
  
Unshed tears were standing in the corners of Nabiki's eyes,  
but her expression refused to soften.  
  
"You think I broke your heart," Nabiki accused, "but you  
deceived me and treated me just like every *other* girl who's fallen  
in love with you. It was worse, because you made me believe that I  
was different!"  
  
Ranma was speechless. His mouth worked up and down  
soundlessly at Nabiki's admittance.  
  
"For a few days there, I was convinced that I could have it  
all, and then you told me that it was the other girls standing in our  
way. I don't see how I could have ever thought you'd be happy without  
your harem."  
  
"You... thought that I had become... a girl... in my mind,"  
Ranma finally uttered.  
  
"What was I supposed to think?!" Nabiki screeched. "You only  
showed every sign that you weren't a guy anymore! Gee, stupid  
Nabiki," she said in a tone that mocked herself as much as Ranma,  
"falling for something that looks like a girl but is really a guy."  
  
"Nabiki..." Taiyoko murmured in a disbelieving tone. "It's...  
t-this is t-t-true?"  
  
The girl's admission hurt, Ranma admitted to himself. Nabiki  
thought that he-- Ranma-- had become a girl in both mind and body.  
  
How close was that to the truth? Didn't Ranma's body *want*  
guys to touch her. Didn't she become aroused when she spent too much  
time with Kunou, Hiroshi, or Daisuke? Didn't she dream about it every  
night for almost a month? Wasn't she guilty of doing all the girly  
things? How many times had she been caught watching soap operas or  
wearing dresses or...  
  
"You let me think you were a woman! Worse, you used me to get  
off," Nabiki continued, "but then when it looked like I might want a  
little bit of commitment, you used the excuse closest to hand to shut  
me out. Nabiki Tendou doesn't play that game Ranma. You had your  
chance, and now it's gone."  
  
She rather forcibly grabbed Taiyoko's hand. The blonde girl's  
expression was confused and more than a little hurt.  
  
"I used you... I used you?!" Ranma asked in anger. "You can  
sit there and say that? You came on to me like an animal in heat, and  
say that I used *you*?!"  
  
"Well what else do you call it?"  
  
"I didn't even understand what the hell was going on," Ranma  
admitted loudly. "Here's a cute girl, and she's hanging all over me.  
I didn't even know why it turned me on at first let alone if I liked  
it or not. How the hell was I supposed to react?"  
  
"Ranma... Nabiki... please don't fight," Taiyoko interjected  
quietly.  
  
"And her... did you just start hanging all over Taiyoko too?"  
Ranma asked accusingly.  
  
"Please--"  
  
"Did you touch her like you touched me?!" Ranma demanded.  
"Well, obviously. I've seen that for myself."  
  
"You t-t-t-t-ouched--"  
  
"Shut up, Ranma!" Nabiki yelled, holding Taiyoko close to her  
chest.  
  
"You told me that I made you think I was a girl," Ranma  
retorted, "But you made me think that it didn't matter one way or the  
other! I thought you cared about me..."  
  
"Get it through your thick skull, Ranma. You're a man! Even  
when you're a girl, you're still a man. I could never love a man!"  
  
The worst part of it was the shame. Shame at not realizing  
what Nabiki was... or what she was after. Shame at the way he had  
been duped. Shame at his arousal, which was still the foremost  
thought in his mind. He felt shame because he still wanted the both  
of them, even after everything that had been said.  
  
There was even shame at not being what Nabiki or Taiyoko  
wanted.  
  
"Is that enough for you, Ranma?!" Nabiki cried.  
  
"Fine!" Ranma shouted angrily. He realized that there were  
tears standing in his own eyes. "That's just fine! See if I care! See  
if it matters to me at all!"  
  
He turned to storm back out of Nabiki's room, only to run  
face-first into Akane.  
  
Ranma blinked. She had been standing right outside the door  
for who knew how long. She was shaking. Her features were contorted  
with rage and hurt. Her fists were clenched.  
  
"With my own sister..." she growled, despite the fact that  
tears were flowing down her cheeks. "You... you... you... And you!"  
she whirled on Nabiki. "How could you?!"  
  
"Well, I'm not any more," Nabiki assured her flippantly.  
"He's all yours, Akane, if you can ever get him away from the other  
girls."  
  
Akane didn't even hear her. "You're sleeping WITH ANOTHER  
GIRL!!"  
  
"Why don't you yell it a little louder, Akane?" Nabiki  
responded. "I'm not sure the whole neighborhood has heard you yet."  
  
"Perverted!" Akane yelled, almost irrational with rage. "My  
own sister! You're a monster, Nabiki!"  
  
Nabiki rolled her eyes. "Says the girl with a sex-changing  
fiancee."  
  
"I AM NOT A PERVERT!" Akane yelled, lunging across the room  
at her older sister. Before Ranma could think, he was moving, but not  
fast enough to keep Akane from belting Nabiki in the face.  
  
Nabiki rocked back with the punch, clutching at her face.  
  
"NO!" Taiyoko screamed. "Don't hurt her!"  
  
"This is all your fault," Akane accused the blonde girl. "If  
you hadn't come here and started confusing everyone, we wouldn't have  
this problem. Die, whore!" Akane yelled, cocking her fist.  
  
Taiyoko cowered back away from her.  
  
Akane swung, but her fist never connected. It impacted  
against Ranma's open hand with a meaty smack. Before she could react,  
Ranma had his arms around her shoulders, and was pulling her off of  
the other two girls.  
  
"Let me go!" she screamed angrily, flailing and kicking for  
all she was worth.  
  
"This isn't any of your business," Ranma told her coldly,  
trying to drag her across the room without hurting her.  
  
"Akane's right," a new voice said. "What Nabiki and Taiyoko  
are doing is wrong!"  
  
It was Kasumi, standing in the hallway outside Nabiki's door.  
  
"That's still no excuse to hit your sister, Akane," she  
scolded.  
  
"God, ain't this messed up enough without you butting in  
too?" Ranma yelled in exasperation.  
  
Nabiki was sitting upright in her bed, poking at her rapidly  
swelling eye. "Why don't both of you just stay the hell out of this?"  
she demanded.  
  
"I can't!" Kasumi declared. "I won't let you do this horrible  
thing, Nabiki. It's just not right!"  
  
"I'll take care of that right now," Akane added. "Come here  
so I can kill you, you freak!" she yelled at Taiyoko.  
  
The blonde girl was bawling, her face buried against Nabiki's  
arm.  
  
"Keep your hands off her, Akane!" Ranma blinked. He hadn't  
even realized that he had said it until it came out of his mouth.  
  
"You're sleeping with her too, aren't you?" Akane shouted in  
accusation.  
  
Ranma surprised himself again. He roughly shoved Akane away  
from himself, sending her stumbling out into the hall. Kasumi caught  
her, just before she plowed into the wall."  
  
"That's not very nice at all, Ranma!" Kasumi scolded.  
  
"And beating on one of my best friends is?" the martial  
artist retorted. "You're acting as fucked-up as she is."  
  
"Watch your mouth when you talk to my sister," Akane  
threatened, closing ranks with Kasumi.  
  
"You're just making things worse. The both of you just need  
to go away," Ranma said, feeling just how out of control the  
situation was becoming. He tried to usher them back down the hallway,  
but just managed to get himself backed up against Akane's doorway.  
  
"Maybe you should never have brought that pervert into our  
house, Ranma!" Akane said. "It's your fault that everything is so  
crazy around here now."  
  
"Ranma, you're a guest here," Kasumi said. "You need to  
follow the rules and--"  
  
"Shut up!" Ranma yelled. "Neither of you is making any sense!  
If there's anything wrong here, it's with the two of you!"  
  
Akane answered him with a slap across the face.  
  
Ranma's arousal had been stretched the very limits. He had  
only been learning how to control it for a few weeks. It was still  
burning inside him, fueling his frustration. Akane was acting  
irrationally, just like she always did, some small part of Ranma's  
mind told him. She never listened. She never tried to understand. It  
was almost impossible to bear. His anger at her was fiery and out of  
control.  
  
He returned her slap, leaving a red mark across her cheek.  
  
Akane's eyes opened wide in shock as she clutched at her  
stinging face.  
  
Kasumi looked on in horror. She didn't believe what had just  
happened. She didn't want to believe. It was undeniable. There Ranma  
stood, his hand raised in the air at the end of the ringing blow.  
  
"Ranma..." Akane muttered in disbelief. "You... you... YOU  
CREEP!"  
  
Ranma never saw the punch coming.  
  
It was, by any account, one of the wildest, most anger-fueled  
blows that had ever come from Akane, even as bad as her temper really  
was. It caught Ranma across the chin, lifting him into the air and  
sending him flying back into Akane's room.  
  
Shocked by the blow, Ranma was too stunned to try to recover.  
He landed hard against Akane's bed. His head whipped back. He heard  
something crack.  
  
Akane gasped out loud, hearing the sharp crack and seeing  
Ranma go limp as he hit the side of her bed. For just a second, it  
seemed like she had gone back in time a few months, and was watching  
Ranma slip on eggs she had thrown at him.  
  
Then Akane's bed collapsed. It's steel frame had been the  
source of the crack, bending and snapping at a welded joint under the  
force of the impact. The weight of Ranma's body tipped the bed,  
sending Akane's mattress sliding off into the floor.  
  
Recovering from his shock, Ranma tried to right himself,  
clawing at anything he could in order to get back up. He only  
succeeded in further dislodging the mattress. He slipped and fell  
over, laying face up in front of the remnants of Akane's bed.  
  
A magazine slid off of the exposed surface of the tilted  
boxspring, and landed across Ranma's face.  
  
He blinked, and slowly pulled the magazine off his face.  
  
It was his naughty Utena doujinshi. Why did Akane have it?  
  
A few more magazines were sliding off the bed and landing on  
him or the mattress. One had a cover he had seen before. It took him  
a few seconds to recognize it, but remembered that Hiroshi had shown  
him the same issue several weeks ago. It was a Sailor Moon doujinshi  
entitled 'Lunatic Syndrome'. The front cover was a picture of Sailor  
Jupiter and Sailor Mercury in an undressed state and entwined in a  
deep kiss.  
  
One magazine that landed in his lap also seemed to be  
familiar. It showed a picture of a large-busted model in a seductive  
pose. She was wearing only a brassier, gloves, and thigh-high  
stockings. Ranma suddenly remembered that he had seen this before--  
and that Akane had been practicing the same pose in her mirror. The  
memory was hazy, as if from a dream, but it was far too certain to be  
deja vu. Curiously, he turned the page. The next image was a full  
two-page spread of the same model running her gloved fingers across  
another model's exposed vulva.  
  
He stood in shock, confused by what he was seeing. All around  
him lie dozens of magazines and books. Some were doujinshi that  
seemed similar in tone to the Utena or Sailor Moon magazine. Some  
looked more like novels. One that had fallen off the boxspring and  
landed next to his hand was entitled 'A Different Love Affair', and  
had a painted picture of two scantily-clad women dancing together on  
its front cover. Others were glossy magazines. Those that had fallen  
open seemed to cover a great range, from the barely erotic to the  
obscenely pornographic. One image that caught Ranma's eye was of a  
woman in a school uniform similar to that of Furinkan High. She was  
bound at the hands and feet and tied into a chair, while another  
woman, clad from head to toe in a skin-tight latex body-suit, suckled  
at her exposed breasts.  
  
Without exception, every image that Ranma could see was of  
female flesh.  
  
"Oh-ho-ho..." Nabiki chuckled. "I see!" While Ranma was  
distracted, she had wormed her way into the room past Akane and  
Kasumi and had knelt down next to Ranma. She picked up one magazine  
and began to page through it, looking intently with the eye that was  
not rapidly swelling shut.  
  
"Get out..." Akane yelled.  
  
"Akane," Kasumi asked in confusion. "What is this? Why are  
these things in your room?"  
  
"Now I should think that's *perfectly* obvious, Kasumi,"  
Nabiki said.  
  
"Get out of my room!" Akane screamed, her fists still  
clenched and shaking. Her face was red, but not from anger.  
  
Ranma blinked, still trying to get to his feet. He slipped on  
another magazine, this one displaying two young women doing  
interesting things to each other with phallic vibrators.  
  
"'Hot Lesbo Sluts'," Nabiki read. "You really don't have any  
taste at all, do you, Akane? Here's a good one. 'Tails of Passion'.  
You know that most of this stuff is made for guys don't you?" Nabiki  
laughed out loud.  
  
"I don't understand," Ranma said.  
  
"That's not a big change," Nabiki said. "Let me spell it out  
for you, Ranma. Your fiancee is a dyke!"  
  
"Akane, no!" Kasumi yelled.  
  
This time, Ranma was ready. He caught Akane before she could  
tear into her sister. She was screaming incoherently and thrashing  
around desperately, but couldn't escape from Ranma's grasp.  
  
"It's not even that big a surprise if you think about it.  
Birds of a feather, after all."  
  
"That's enough, Nabiki," Soun's voice rang out over his  
youngest daughter's screams. He was standing in the hallway next to  
Kasumi, clad only in a pair of boxer shorts.  
  
"Pot calling the kettle black, don't you think, Akane?"  
Nabiki pressed.  
  
"SHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUP!!" Akane screamed, still trying to get  
free.  
  
"I think the lady doth protest too much," Nabiki noted,  
laying the magazine she had been holding down. "That makes twice that  
I've been fooled."  
  
"I said that was enough, Nabiki," Soun commanded. "Go  
downstairs. Please take Taiyoko with you."  
  
"Why?" Ranma asked Akane, tears beginning to flow down his  
face.  
  
Akane either didn't hear or was ignoring him in her mad  
struggles to get free.  
  
"I HATE YOU, RANMA!" Akane screamed. "LET GO OF ME!"  
  
Once Nabiki had fled, Ranma let go of Akane, who collapsed  
sobbing in the middle of the floor.  
  
"I HATE YOU!" she cried again. "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT! IT'S  
ALL YOUR FAULT! GET OUT OF HERE! GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!!"  
  
"Akane's right. You should leave, Ranma," Kasumi said. "At  
least until everyone has calmed down and come to their senses."  
  
His eyes wide and staring, Ranma rushed past Kasumi and her  
father and back into his own room.  
  
"Ranma, wait!" Soun yelled after him, running down the  
hallway. It was too late by the time he reached Ranma's room. The  
window was open, and Soun could see Ranma's dark shape vaulting the  
fence outside in the moonlight.  
  
* * *  
  
Ranma had grabbed his red Chinese shirt and a pair of pants  
before he left the Tendou's house, so he stopped behind some  
shrubbery to pull them on over his boxers and under-shirt.  
  
He ran at random, as fast as he could. His only goal was to  
get away from the Tendou's house and the betrayal he found there.  
  
Betrayal wasn't the right word, but Ranma didn't know how  
else to think about what he was feeling.  
  
First there was Nabiki. Ranma admitted to himself that he was  
attracted to her and wanted her body. Worse, he wanted her to want or  
need him in return. Before tonight he thought she did.  
  
"Do I love her?" he asked himself under his breath as he ran.  
  
Ranma didn't know, but a vicious, selfish little voice inside  
his mind kept screaming "Mine! Mine!" as loudly as it could.  
  
Nabiki didn't want Ranma, or at least she claimed, simply  
because of his masculinity. Was he that different a person when was a  
girl?  
  
Then there was Akane, who appeared to share her sister's  
proclivities, at least to some degree. Ranma couldn't think of any  
other reason for what he had seen in her room. Was it true? Did Akane  
like girls? Was she attracted to women?  
  
If so, why had she pushed Ranma away a few weeks earlier,  
when she had almost begged Akane for physical affection? At the time,  
Akane had seemed almost accepting, and almost... interested.  
  
"Well, I'm not interested in kissing girls," Akane had  
admitted that day in the girls' showers. "But... kissing my  
fiancee..."  
  
What had happened between then and now? Why was Akane so  
hostile as to be irrational? If Akane liked girls, why couldn't she  
have shown Ranma what they both seemed so interested in? Even one  
kiss...  
  
Even one kiss would have saved Ranma from falling for Nabiki.  
  
Now, neither of them wanted Ranma, and he really wasn't sure  
why, or where it had all gone wrong. Nabiki had hinted that Ranma  
lost any chance with her as soon as she realized that Ranma was still  
a boy... specifically when Ranma indicated that they would get in  
trouble if Akane, Ukyou, or Kodachi walked in on them in the  
bathroom. She called them his 'harem'.  
  
Akane's disposition had changed... changed radically in the  
last few months. Before, she seemed almost tolerant. Now, despite the  
fact that it seemed Akane was indeed interested in 'kissing girls',  
she was violently irrational about the concept, enough so that she  
attacked her sister.  
  
Now that neither one was interested in him any more, what  
could he do?  
  
As the cloudy sky above began to grow light, Ranma found  
himself near the bridge. Not wanting to deal with anyone who might be  
up, he walked down the banks of the canal and sat down just  
underneath the overhang of the concrete structure.  
  
Did he love Nabiki? Did he love Akane? Even if he did, was  
there any chance that either of them would ever want to be with him?  
Would Nabiki ever love him? Would Akane?  
  
Would he still be forced to marry Akane, upholding their  
family's engagement, even if the girl did not love him? Would Ranma  
want the marriage, even if Akane didn't love him? What if she didn't?  
What if their marriage was loveless and sexless? What if...  
  
The dawn was obscured by thick, scudding clouds. As all of  
the possibilities were crashing down on Ranma, it began to rain. He  
scurried further up underneath the bridge, hoping to avoid the water,  
but the shower was soon accompanied by a healthy breeze. Ranma was  
soon covered in a fine spray of freezing mist.  
  
Ranma found herself wet, cold, female and utterly alone.  
  
"Pigtailed girl," a voice called out in the rain.  
  
Ranma glanced up to see two shapes approaching her.  
  
"Ranma," the voice said again. It was Kunou, carrying an open  
umbrella to ward off the rain. Next to him was Kodachi, also carrying  
an umbrella. She carried a spare in one hand. Wordlessly, she reached  
out and handed it to Ranma.  
  
"I would never speak ill of the community," Kunou said, "but  
privately, I detest the weather in this city. Is it so much to ask  
for the sky to stay sunny all day at least once or twice a week?"  
  
"Come, Ranma-sama," Kodachi urged the pigtailed girl. "I  
understand it has not been that long since you recovered from a cold.  
It just wouldn't do for you to get another so soon. Come with me...  
and I will keep you warm and dry."  
  
* * *  
  
It was raining quite hard by the time Soun managed to get all  
three of his daughters assembled around the main table. He had to  
shout Akane and Kasumi down several times after Ranma left. It wasn't  
something he was very good at. By the time he sat down in front of  
them, he was shaking visibly. He was also chain-smoking, something  
his daughters hadn't seen him do since right after their mother's  
funeral. The tobacco didn't noticeably calm him.  
  
Taiyoko tried to excuse herself, but Soun shook his head.  
  
"No, you stay right here. This probably concerns you as much  
as it does my daughters."  
  
Trembling, Taiyoko nodded, not trusting herself to speak.  
  
After taking a few deep breaths, he looked at each of his  
daughters gravely. He opened his mouth once, paused, and said, "All I  
ever really wanted out of life were two simple things. I want my  
daughters to be happy, and I want my dojo to survive after I'm gone."  
  
Kasumi nodded. All three girls had heard that before.  
  
"If all of you understand that, can anyone tell me why all of  
my daughters are hell bent on denying me those two simple things?" he  
asked in a calm voice.  
  
"Father?" Kasumi asked. "What's the matter? Why are you so  
upset?"  
  
Soun's eyes flashed darkly. He glared at the oldest girl,  
sending her scrambling back away from him.  
  
Akane and Nabiki gasped in shock. They had *never* seen their  
father get angry at Kasumi before.  
  
"I'm apparently not much of a father," Soun said, "but I  
thought that I raised you better than to be judgmental, Kasumi,  
especially of your sisters."  
  
"Father?" Kasumi pleaded, tears standing in her eyes.  
  
"Despite the fact that I've been doing my damndest to push  
Ranma and Akane together for the last *year*, you've been blocking me  
at every turn!"  
  
"But... but... but... Akane... It's just not right. She could  
get pregnant," Kasumi replied meekly.  
  
"THAT WOULD BE WONDERFUL!" Soun bellowed. "Why else do you  
think Genma and I engaged them?! And you--" he turned to Akane.  
"You've been doing even more to block us. We've given you an entire  
year to decide, but you still keep stringing the entire family along  
the entire time. And now you've thrown your fiancee out?! How long do  
you think it will take him to settle in with one of his other  
girlfriends, Akane?"  
  
"That's not fair!" Akane yelled in protest.  
  
"What's not fair is that you have as little regards for your  
fiancee's feelings as you do the rest of us, Akane," Soun countered.  
"I can't claim to understand the depth of Ranma's injury, but I  
genuinely believed he loved you, even before his surgery. I had hoped  
that one day the two of you would put aside your childish bickering  
and pointless romances and admit your feelings for each other. Now I  
see that I was wrong-- horribly wrong."  
  
Akane's face was contorted in rage and fury. Her fists were  
balled into tight lumps.  
  
"Now my hopes of passing the dojo down to the two of you have  
died. To top it all off, you have the unmitigated gall to attack your  
sister?" Soun grabbed one of the magazines that had fallen on the  
floor and held it up, displaying its pornographic cover. "Do you know  
what the word 'hypocrisy' means, Akane?"  
  
Akane's face turned red. She turned, unable to look her  
father in the eyes. She stared at the floor, shame beginning to  
replace rage on her face.  
  
"And you," he turned to Nabiki. "Is the dishonesty ever going  
to stop, Nabiki?"  
  
His middle daughter's face paled.  
  
"We've had this discussion before, Nabiki-- many times.  
Still, you lied to me, you lied to your sisters, and if what I heard  
is correct, you deceived Ranma as well. You used him just like you  
try to use everyone else. You're so intent on controlling everything  
and everyone around you that you lie and keep secrets to spite  
yourself. How else do you end up with situations like this?" he  
gestured around himself.  
  
"You knew," Nabiki accused.  
  
"Of course I knew," Soun said mildly. "Do you think I haven't  
been watching you for the last seventeen years? Please, Kasumi," he  
said, holding up a hand to his eldest daughter. "Don't interrupt."  
  
The oldest girl closed her mouth. She was still visibly  
upset.  
  
Soun finished his cigarette and lit another one.  
  
"There is a reason that I haven't made a point of it up until  
now. The main reason is that I wanted to avoid a confrontation like  
this one. I didn't want to decloset you in front of your sisters. Now  
it's too late for that." He took a long drag off his cigarette.  
  
"Father, what Nabiki is doing is unnatural," Kasumi said  
calmly.  
  
"That may be," Soun said. "But that's for her to decide. Even  
if you think it's wrong, I will not have my daughters be uncivil to  
each other. I hope I've made myself clear. Akane?"  
  
"Yes, Father," Akane mumbled.  
  
"Nabiki, I can't begin tell you the amount of suffering  
you've opened yourself up to. The path you've chosen is  
extraordinarily difficult and painful, and there's only so much help  
I can give you. If your sisters are this antagonistic, can you  
imagine how you will be treated by people who *don't* care about  
you?"  
  
"I understand that, Daddy," Nabiki said. "But--"  
  
Soun cut her off, saying, "Do you remember your dear,  
departed aunt Noriko?"  
  
Nabiki nodded.  
  
"And do you remember your Aunt's maid, Yayoi-san?"  
  
Again, Nabiki nodded, comprehension beginning to dawn in her  
eyes. She vaguely remembered the pair from her youth. She always  
thought that Yayoi was very pretty, remembering the bright red  
lipstick the girl always wore.  
  
"Of course if our parents ever found out about my sister's  
preferences, Noriko would have been disowned. That's why Yayoi was  
her 'maid'."  
  
Kasumi gasped, her hands going to her mouth.  
  
"But then Yayoi got sick," Soun said. "If I remember  
correctly, it was because she had a weak heart. They wouldn't even  
let my poor sister visit her in the hospital. She was never even able  
to say goodbye."  
  
Nabiki winced, suddenly remembering the trouble she had  
helped Ranma with a few weeks ago.  
  
He paused, wiping a tear from his eye. "While my parents  
still don't know, I'm afraid Yayoi's parents found out at some point.  
They forbade Noriko from attending the funeral. How would you feel,  
Nabiki, if you weren't able to attend the funeral of someone you  
promised to spend the rest of your life with? It killed Noriko. She  
got a severe cold later that year, and just didn't fight it off like  
anyone else would have. Her heart was so full of grief that she  
didn't even try to recover."  
  
Taiyoko gulped out loud at Soun's statement. Nabiki knew her  
parents well enough to know exactly how they would act in such a  
situation. Still, the dark-haired girl's face hardened.  
  
"I love Taiyoko," she said out loud after some deliberation.  
It was a difficult statement to make. "Nothing else matters."  
  
"You don't know what love is, Nabiki," Soun said flatly.  
"You've known Taiyoko for a few weeks. What you have-- the both of  
you have-- is infatuation. It will be months or even years before you  
even begin to understand what it means to truly love someone."  
Distastefully, he rubbed out his cigarette in an ashtray. More  
calmly, he addressed his daughter. "What you have may one day grow  
into love. It's something you should strive for. You had better show  
Taiyoko more honesty and kindness than you have the rest of your  
family," Soun warned, "or your relationship won't last that long."  
  
Nabiki nodded. She glanced guiltily at Taiyoko once, but then  
turned back to her father, doing her best to keep a resolute  
expression.  
  
"I don't suppose you're a martial artist, are you, dear?"  
Soun asked Taiyoko.  
  
The blonde girl shook her head, her face full of worry and  
concern, but at the same time, a joyful glee at Nabiki's admission  
and Soun's seeming acceptance.  
  
"Ah, well, I suppose it was too much to hope for. I  
understand that you've already gotten off to a bad start with your  
parents."  
  
Taiyoko nodded sadly. "I just don't know what else we could  
have done. The things Ranma said last night are all true. It was more  
and more like a nightmare up until I left."  
  
"You really are starting off with both feet in the gutter,"  
Soun noted in exasperation. "Well, I've never turned away anyone else  
away. I don't see why I should start now. You're welcome to stay here  
for as long as you need to."  
  
"I've probably lost my job at my mother's catering company,"  
Taiyoko noted, "But Nabiki said that the ramen shop nearby is looking  
for waitresses. I can contribute just as soon as I get another part-  
time job."  
  
"That's very responsible of you and makes a very good point.  
If you and Nabiki plan to pursue an adult relationship under my roof,  
I expect at least some adult responsibility out of you. That means  
helping with the bills rather than extorting your poor father at  
every opportunity, Nabiki. It also means an end to the dishonesty."  
  
Nabiki nodded seriously. She didn't resist when Taiyoko  
placed her hand in Nabiki's. Both girls blushed.  
  
Tears streaming down her face, Kasumi ran from the room. She  
felt alone and betrayed. Worse, she felt like her very presence was  
hurting the rest of her family.  
  
Soun sighed at length. "You might even think about helping  
with the housework," he suggested quietly. "It might upset Kasumi  
more than it helps, but the sooner she grows accustomed to this  
arrangement, the better. Now, if you will, I want to talk to Akane  
alone."  
  
Both girls nodded, and quickly left.  
  
Akane couldn't meet her father's lingering gaze.  
  
Finally, the man picked up the magazine he had been holding  
before and set it down in front of her.  
  
"You know," he said after several minutes, "I never thought  
I'd have to have this conversation since I didn't have any sons."  
  
Akane gulped.  
  
Soun took a deep breath and gestured to the pornographic  
magazine.  
  
"You know, it's not abnormal to be interested in that sort of  
thing," he said. "I know I certainly was at your age. Of course, I  
had very poor role models when I was your age. If Genma or I ever  
came across anything like this, we either destroyed it or hid it,  
because the master *would* confiscate it."  
  
Akane shuddered, thinking how horrible it would have been to  
try to grow up under such oppressive conditions.  
  
"Of course, it's... problematic... if you're interested in  
the same kinds of things your sister is."  
  
"I'm not!" Akane fiercely declared.  
  
"Apparently, you're still undecided," Soun said. "Regardless,  
I need you to try to make up your mind as soon as you can, Akane. If  
there is *any* chance for a future between you and Ranma, I want our  
family to try to salvage it. If not, I need to start making other  
arrangements."  
  
He sighed at great length, stood and sat back down next to  
his daughter. He put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her  
close to him.  
  
"It's very difficult, isn't it, not knowing?" he asked her.  
  
Akane's resolve finally cracked. Tears began to spill down  
her face, washing away all the anger. She buried her face in her  
father's side and began to wail like a lost child.  
  
"You may never know as surely as Nabiki or Kasumi seem to,"  
he told her after allowing her to cry for several minutes. "When your  
aunt was growing up, she seemed just as interested in young men as  
she did young women. Of course you have Ranma's curse to complicate  
things for you."  
  
He sat for several more seconds, considering wether or not he  
wanted another cigarette. Finally, he leaned over and kissed the  
crown of his crying daughter's head. "Akane, you're probably going to  
have a very difficult time. I wish I could make it easier for you,  
but I really can't. Even if I could make your decisions for you,  
you've proven to me over and over again that you don't want me to. I  
don't think this is any different." He took a deep breath and cleared  
his throat. "Even if you are interested... in certain things... Ranma  
may not be. I honestly don't know. Depending on what you feel, maybe  
its for the best to let him go."  
  
Akane's crying intensified, but she couldn't let go of her  
father.  
  
Privately, Soun began to wonder how difficult it would be to  
adopt Ukyou. He knew how badly that would hurt his daughter, so he  
kept his mouth shut on the matter.  
  
Finally, after Akane's tears seemed to have passed, he  
gestured once more to the magazine.  
  
"I know that you've been experimenting," he said, "and that  
you will probably continue to do so, but I'd like you to consider  
something before you buy anything else like this," he said. "Do you  
know what you're paying for here?"  
  
Teary-eyed, Akane shook her head. "I thought I was just  
buying a magazine," she admitted in a quiet voice.  
  
"And why do you think these girls do this sort of thing?" he  
asked.  
  
The answer was very easy, but Akane had never thought about  
it before. "Money," she guessed.  
  
Soun nodded. "I'm certain some of them are doing it for a  
thrill or for some other reason, but I think that most of them do  
this for the money. What do you think girls like this do with that  
kind of money?"  
  
Akane was silent.  
  
"I bet that a few of them are just living a very high  
lifestyle with nice clothes and fancy electronics." Soun said. "I  
understand that it pays fairly well. I'm certain others are taking  
advantage of their bodies in order to pay for tuition, rent, or debt.  
There may even be a few who are using it to support their families. I  
think that there are quite a few girls who do that because its the  
only way they can support their habits, Akane."  
  
The girl gulped at the statement.  
  
"Of course I don't know for certain. I've never been involved  
in that sort of thing," Soun admitted, "even as many times as the  
master tried to convince me of how wonderful it would be. I  
understand that its a very exploitive business and that its very easy  
to become part of a dark, dark world. I imagine that at least some of  
the people who are involved in producing this sort of thing can be  
very unscrupulous and misleading.  
  
"I know from experience that its very easy to get someone to  
do something they don't want to do if you promise enough of something  
they do want," Soun continued. "In my case, mastery of the martial  
arts came at a price that I wished I never had to pay. For a long  
time, I even thought that I managed to leave it behind me, but it  
still came back to haunt me. How many of these girls do you think  
will feel the same way when they're a little bit older?"  
  
Soun sighed once more and stood, facing his daughter. He  
smiled as warmly as he could. "I won't tell you what is right or  
wrong, Akane. You're a big girl, and there's nothing I can do to  
persuade you one way or the other. Just think carefully about the  
decisions you're making right now because they're a lot more  
important than you might think."  
  
* * *  
  
"So, you were listening in," Ranma guessed as she was  
escorted into the depths of the Kunou mansion.  
  
Kodachi had the good grace to blush. "A bad habit, I  
suppose," she admitted weakly. "It comes of surviving in such a  
political environment as a girl's school."  
  
The Kunous had escorted Ranma out from underneath the bridge  
and into a waiting limousine. There had been a short, silent car-ride  
to the Kunou's estate, while Kodachi stripped the water off of  
Ranma's body with dry towels.  
  
Tatewaki made a brief, nearly unintelligible statement about  
'hot water', and led both Ranma and his sister into the house. He was  
being particularly close-lipped.  
  
"You must understand that the proper behavior when dealing  
with intrigue is to slowly gather information and then act upon it,"  
Kodachi continued.  
  
"So you acted..."  
  
Kodachi coughed uncomfortably. "I saw a situation that  
required intervention, so I acted... even though I was not sure of  
the proper course of action."  
  
"Well... thanks. Even if you were spying on me," Ranma said  
graciously.  
  
They arrived in front of an ornate door, which Kunou held  
open for Ranma. It was foggy and steamy inside. Ranma couldn't help  
but be reminded of the scene he saw in the Tendou's furo."  
  
"This is the guest bath," Tatewaki said, a little more  
clearly, but nervously nonetheless. "Inside is everything one would  
need for... for a bath. Do you... *ahem* require anything special?  
Special chemicals? A thermometer?"  
  
Ranma sighed and shook her head. "No, just so long as there's  
hot water in there, I'll be okay."  
  
Both Kunous seemed to be more than a little unsure of how to  
behave in this situation. Ranma was thankful enough that they seemed  
to finally have gotten it through their thick heads that she settled  
for simply closing the door behind her as she entered the bath rather  
than chasing them off.  
  
The 'bath' was more like a private indoor pool filled with  
hot water. There were sculptures and mosaics on the walls, and what  
looked like stone beach-chairs placed at regular intervals around the  
'tub'. After Ranma scrubbed off, she was literally able to dive into  
the deep basin, letting her problems float away on the surface of the  
water.  
  
The change felt good. It felt like everything that happened  
since the night before could simply be washed away. In fact, after  
diving in, Ranma decided not to resurface. It was easier to  
concentrate on holding his breath as he lay at the bottom of the pool  
than it was to try to understand what had happened.  
  
After almost two minutes, Ranma finally broke the water's  
surface after white spots began to dance in front of his eyes. He  
went down again, holding his breath longer. He went down a third time  
and a fourth.  
  
Finally, Ranma was so dizzy he leaned over the side of the  
warm pool and allowed his face to rest against the cold tile floor.  
  
Then, holding his head in his hands, he wept.  
  
Kodachi was waiting outside the bath with clean, dry clothes  
by the time he finally got out and dried off. He noted that she  
seemed surprised that it was indeed him that came out of the bathroom  
and not the pigtailed girl.  
  
"Lunch will be ready in about an hour, Ranma-sama," she said.  
"In the mean time, there are many diversions we have to offer. If you  
would like, my brother has an extensive video library, or there is a  
covered training facility in the back."  
  
Actually, training didn't sound like a bad idea. He followed  
Kodachi's directions and made his way out into the covered garden. It  
was cold, and a little misty, but it wasn't so wet that Ranma was  
uncomfortable.  
  
After a few minutes, he realized that Kunou was going through  
kendo forms at the other end of the garden.  
  
Quietly, Ranma walked up behind the swordsman and watched.  
  
Tatewaki finished the form he was on and turned to Ranma. He  
bowed perfunctorily, and then he attacked.  
  
Grinning, Ranma blocked the first of the blows, and dodged  
the next.  
  
The two sparred for better than an hour with nothing but  
their grunts of exertion to break the silence. By the time it was  
over, Ranma's muscles were burning and sore. Kunou had improved a  
little since the last time they fought, but Ranma still hadn't had  
much opportunity to regain any of the shape he had lost during his  
period of forced inactivity. Much to Ranma's chagrin, Kunou managed  
to get several ringing hits in, mostly around the ribs.  
  
Exhausted, but still silent, the two young men sat against  
either side of a large rock in the center of the garden.  
  
Finally, Ranma rose to his feet.  
  
"That was a good workout, Kunou-sempai," he offered.  
  
"Truly. I see that I must further sharpen my skills if I am  
to defeat you."  
  
"What's the point?" Ranma asked. "Other than just fighting  
for the sake of fighting like we did just now. You seem to know who  
your 'pigtailed girl' really is. Are you still trying to get Akane?"  
  
Kunou was silent for several minutes before he answered.  
"Perhaps it is that I wish to fight just for the sake of fighting. Is  
that not the truest form of the art? And perhaps I still do have  
designs on Akane Tendou."  
  
"Man, if you're willing to put up with the grief she'll give  
you, you can have her."  
  
Kunou didn't answer.  
  
After lunch, since he really hadn't gotten any sleep the  
night before, Ranma found a spare bedroom and simply collapsed.  
  
* * *  
  
It was dark when he awoke. The rain clouds seemed to have  
vanished for the most part, leaving a starry sky, streaked with an  
occasional cloud visible through the window.  
  
There was a quiet rustling in the room. Ranma sat up in bed,  
trying to pierce the darkness with his eyes.  
  
A candle flared to life on a table next to the bed. He could  
see Kodachi behind it. She lit another candle before shaking out the  
match she used to light them. She crossed in front of the bed to the  
empty dresser and lit two more, illuminating them in small circle of  
flickering, golden light.  
  
At first, Ranma thought Kodachi had changed out of the long,  
conservative dress she had been wearing earlier in the day into her  
leotard. Now that she was more thoroughly illuminated, he could see  
that he was wrong.  
  
Silently, Ranma noted that the gymnast was wearing a form-  
fitting lace bustier that left her full, pert breasts partially  
exposed. The bustier ended in garter belts that reached down over  
Kodachi's midsection and held the thigh-high stockings the girl was  
wearing into place.  
  
What Ranma was most aware of was the fact that Kodachi's more  
salient features were exposed by the costume. Her nipples protruded  
from the top of the bustier, and she was wearing no panties to cover  
her bottom or her delta. As a matter of fact, Ranma noted that  
Kodachi's exposed vulva wasn't even covered with the thin layer of  
hair that most girls seemed to have.  
  
He felt his heart begin to pound and his breathing  
quickening.  
  
"Do you like what you see, Ranma-sama?" the girl asked in a  
suggestive tone, gesturing demurely to herself.  
  
Ranma didn't trust himself to answer.  
  
She sat down next to him on the bed, placing one hand on his  
thigh. Upon closer inspection, he could see that her face was  
elaborately made up and that her hair had been immaculately styled.  
He could smell her light, spicy perfume. More than that, however, he  
could smell *her*, the mild, almost undetectable scent of her body.  
  
He realized that she was trembling somewhat as she reached  
past him and took a freshly-poured glass of champagne. She sipped  
lightly from the glass, and then tilted it against Ranma's lips. He  
let a bit of the fluid pour down his throat without tasting it, not  
caring if the girl had spiked it or not.  
  
Ranma suddenly felt the pressure of a serious decision  
looming before him. It was obvious what Kodachi wanted, and what she  
was prepared to offer in return. She was indeed lovely, he noted  
somewhat distantly. He tried to think about the consequences of what  
could happen, but found that he just really didn't want to.  
  
"I... ah... noticed that you don't have any--"  
  
"I noticed you noticing," she said in a husky voice, cutting  
him off. She giggled, letting her long-nailed fingers brush against  
Ranma's cheek. "I hope you don't mind. There are certain reasons for  
gymnasts to stay hairless in certain areas. It just seems more  
efficient to me to do away with the problem altogether rather than  
deal with it piecemeal. I understand that some men consider it more  
attractive this way. Do you consider it attractive, Ranma-sama?"  
  
Ranma gulped.  
  
"Perhaps you haven't seen enough to come to a decision yet,"  
she said, breathing in his ear. "Tell me if you would like to see  
more, Ranma," she urged him.  
  
For the first time, Ranma noticed that quiet music was  
playing in the room. He tracked it to a small portable stereo that  
Kodachi had apparently brought in with her. The music was very  
distracting. It was all very distracting. Ranma couldn't even seem to  
concentrate on what was bothering him earlier.  
  
Did he want to see more?  
  
A vision of short, dark hair and liquid brown eyes played  
before his eyes for a few moments. For a second, it was Nabiki, who  
had assured him that he could never have her. Then it was Akane,  
whose screams of hatred and rage still echoed in Ranma's ears.  
  
Who did Ranma want to be with? Did it matter? He couldn't  
decide.  
  
Finally, he thought, to hell with Nabiki. To hell with Akane.  
  
"Yeah," he spoke aloud, his voice whisper-quiet. "I want to  
see more. Show me more."  
  
Kodachi smiled a wicked, predatory grin. She leaned in close  
to Ranma until her body was resting against his. He could feel her  
heart beating. He could feel her breath on his lips.  
  
Impulsively, he leaned forward and pressed his lips against  
hers.  
  
She returned the kiss, invading his mouth with her tongue.  
Ranma could faintly taste champagne.  
  
Stop this, some small part of his mind cried out. What about  
Nabiki or Akane?  
  
Shut up, Ranma thought. I want this!  
  
In defiance, Ranma deepened the kiss and wrapped his arm  
around Kodachi's waist. His fingers trailed down her naked hip.  
  
"So forceful," Kodachi noted mischievously when their lips  
parted.  
  
"You're one to talk," Ranma accused, tightening his grip on  
her waist.  
  
"Indeed. I admit that I prefer... straightforward...  
solutions."  
  
Ranma only realized how aroused his body was when Kodachi  
shifted her position in order to straddle Ranma's waist. They kissed  
again. Ranma began let his hands roam across the gymnast's body in  
the way he wanted and the way he thought she wanted. Indeed, she  
seemed to respond to his movements. Her hands began to snake up  
underneath his shirt. She paused briefly to undo the frog ties that  
fastened his shirt, but raked her fingernails softly against his  
chest once she had it open.  
  
Stop! What about responsibility? What about honor? Ranma  
shook head slightly, trying to will those thoughts away. He thought  
back on his brief experience with Taiyoko and how messed up it was.  
No, *this* was what it was supposed to be like!  
  
Seeing and feeling that Kodachi was willing, Ranma stepped up  
his exploration of her body. His hands sought out her breasts. They  
sprung freely from the bustier, each seeming to fill his hand  
perfectly. She shuddered and groaned as he let his fingers brush  
across her nipples.  
  
It was nothing like what had happened the night before!  
Taiyoko had been too afraid and disgusted with what was happening to  
move, but Kodachi returned each of his touches with interest. Ranma  
felt like the two of them were a rising bonfire.  
  
Rising to what? Sex?  
  
It was a possibility... more than a possibility. Ranma could  
feel the gymnast rubbing her mound against his waist. He could feel  
the muscles in her legs tensing and contracting. If they didn't stop  
soon, it would be sex. Did Ranma want to stop?  
  
Would any of other girls be barging in at the least  
appropriate moment? Probably not. Would Ranma care if they did?  
  
Ranma released Kodachi's breasts and let his hands drift  
lower, even as she was placing a series of delicate, sensual bites up  
his shoulder and onto his neck. Greedily, he enveloped one of her  
nipples with his mouth and began to suck gently.  
  
Kodachi stifled a squeal, biting the palm of her hand.  
  
"Oh, Ranma-sama..." she groaned.  
  
Ranma wasn't done yet. His hands darted lower, across her  
bare delta. He kneaded the tender, soft flesh, marvelling at its  
smoothness. He darted even lower, letting his fingers brush across  
Kodachi's dewy petals.  
  
Indeed, they were moist and wet, just like Ranma's got when  
he was a girl. Grinning, Ranma realized what an advantage he must  
have over other guys. Not one of them knew what it *really* felt  
like!  
  
His hands sought out the places on Kodachi's body where his  
girl body longed to be touched. He let his fingers slowly, gently  
slide in between her folds, brushing so lightly against the sensitive  
nub in between that it seemed almost accidental.  
  
Kodachi cried out nonetheless. "Ranma-sama!"  
  
"Do you want me to stop?" Ranma asked, already knowing the  
answer. If he was a girl, he wouldn't want him to stop. He nudged her  
again gently, letting her moisture lubricate his fingers. He slid  
them back and forth gently at first, but then more firmly. He worked  
against Kodachi's folds as well, stimulating every part of her,  
thrilling to the noises he was eliciting from her.  
  
Even more thrilling was the fact that she now was pulling at  
the waistband of his pants, trying to get her hands inside. Ranma  
almost faltered when she slid one hand down under the waist of his  
boxers, and make a quiet groan of pleasure as she gripped his erect  
member. Her other hand rested across his chest as she clumsily began  
to stimulate him in return.  
  
In surprise, he realized that he was more experienced with a  
woman's body than she was with a man's body despite her seeming  
confidence and provocative behavior.  
  
Ranma was suddenly very curious. He shifted the focus of his  
gentle ministrations, letting his fingers dart lower and lower as the  
rubbed against her. He was soon taking long strokes that started at  
her inner lips and drifted up over her sensitive clitoris.  
  
Gently, slowly, he began to probe between them.  
  
"Ah! Ranma-sama, stop!" Kodachi squeaked out.  
  
Indeed, Ranma couldn't push any further. Kodachi's hymen was  
intact. She was a virgin. The idea surprised him, but confirmed what  
he suspected. Despite her sexy costume and willing demeanor, Kodachi  
had no more knowledge of what was happening than Ranma did... and  
perhaps even less.  
  
"Not like this," she pleaded. "Ranma-sama, the other way,  
please..."  
  
She wanted him to continue, but with his...  
  
Ranma gulped. This was it. The point of no return. This was  
where he made all his choices.  
  
For the life of him, he could only see one possible choice,  
and it involved him taking his pants off.  
  
Kodachi nodded, her lips roaming all over his face. Her hand  
continued to move around inside Ranma's pants, touching... exploring.  
  
Ranma didn't try to resist as she leaned forward, lowering  
the both of them to the mattress. He continued to gently stroke her,  
savoring the feel of her trembling body. Soon, he knew, that body  
would belong as much to him as her.  
  
Then there was the clink of glass, and the sudden sensation  
of wetness as a cold, sticky sensation washed down Ranma's face and  
back.  
  
He had knocked over the champagne! She... had knocked over  
the champagne, Ranma noted in irritation.  
  
Kodachi's eyes went wide as the two collapsed together on the  
bed. Ranma could feel the gymnast's hand stiffen inside her shorts.  
She wasn't surprised. Instead of the member that Kodachi had been  
gently caressing, her fingers had slid limply up against Ranma's  
delta. Her other hand twitched, squeezing Ranma's breast slightly.  
  
"I'm sorry," Ranma whispered, realizing that her own slender  
hands were still engaged in a rather intimate fashion. "Let me get  
some hot water and--"  
  
Kodachi jerked, tearing her hands away from Ranma. She  
scrambled to her knees, and rolled off the bed. Ranma tried to keep a  
grip on her, but the gymnast twisted out of her grasp.  
  
"Kodachi, wait..." Ranma pleaded.  
  
Staring in horror, Kodachi backed up until she hit the table,  
knocking both the candles over. Extinguished by their fall, they both  
went out, dimming the room slightly.  
  
"Kodachi, please. I'll get some hot water and we'll pick  
up--"  
  
The half-naked girl turned and ran, fumbling with the  
doorknob on her way out of the room.  
  
Ranma collapsed on the bed, feeling tears beginning to gather  
at the corners of her eyes.  
  
"Dammit."  
  
* * *  
  
"I see, Tendou," Genma noted sadly. "It was bad, then."  
  
"You have no idea, Saotome. You saw Nabiki's eye when you  
came in. Akane was even more upset at Ranma. I'm just not sure  
there's a way any more."  
  
Genma sighed at length. "Well, as much as I hate to suggest  
it, there are other ways to protect the dojo. Hopefully, it won't  
come to that. Maybe they just need some time apart."  
  
"Maybe, but it may be too late for that. What do you have in  
mind?"  
  
"While we were out last night," Genma explained in a  
whispered tone, "Nodoka and I happened across an opportunity that may  
just be too good to pass up..."  
  
-----  
  
~to be continued... 


	19. Leaving

Ranma and his friends belong to Rumiko Takahashi. They're used  
here without permission.  
  
------------------------------  
newRanma 19: Leaving  
  
by Chris Jones  
------------------------------  
  
As the sun ran over Nerima Ward, Ranma ran like a man  
possessed. The rejection he had suffered just a few hours earlier  
was still fresh in his mind. It was like an open wound. Kodachi's  
glare of horror burned into Ranma's mind like a laser.  
  
She wants me! She doesn't want me!  
  
Angrily, fearfully, Ranma shook his head. Just when he  
thought it didn't matter any more, the curse raised its ugly head.  
The hell of it was, when Ranma started trying to figure out how to  
get rid of his cursed girl-body, a new thought invaded his  
consciousness.  
  
It was Nabiki, in the Tendou's restroom, clad in only her  
panties. Her hands roamed over Ranma's body, touching Ranma's most  
sensitive and private places. She wanted Ranma to touch her in  
return.  
  
"Take my panties off," Nabiki commanded.  
  
Ranma had wanted to do that more than anything else in the  
world right then. She wanted to make love to Nabiki... and it  
didn't matter if Ranma was a girl or a boy. In fact, when Ranma  
tried to think of how the situation would proceed if he was a he  
instead of a she, it just didn't work. Nabiki wanted Ranma as a  
woman, but not as a man.  
  
The night before, Kodachi's horror and repulsion at her  
female body was so clear that Ranma could feel it coming off her  
in waves. Kodachi wanted Ranma as a man, but not as a woman.  
  
I want that! I don't want that!  
  
"Why can't I have both?!" Ranma screamed out loud as he  
ran.  
  
Nabiki told him. Nabiki said that she could never love a  
man. Ranma would never have her love as a man. He could never be  
with Kodachi as a woman.  
  
"Why can't I be both?!"  
  
Tears began to stream from Ranma's eyes as the words came  
from his mouth. Another one of his foundation stones had just  
crumbled, tumbling away into the darkness. He thought everything  
would go back to normal once he finally managed to change back,  
but he was starting to see how wrong he was. He wasn't even sure  
of what was going on in his own head anymore.  
  
Still, there was one last chance, even though Ranma wasn't  
sure that was what he wanted. Ranma ran to his destination, hoping  
against hope that what he feared was wrong.  
  
Would the curse be hanging over his head like this for the  
rest of his life? Even if he could get rid of it, would he want  
to?  
  
"Please don't make me choose..." he whispered.  
  
* * *  
  
Despite the fact that she was usually up at the crack of  
dawn, Ukyou Kuonji was not a natural early riser. It was only by  
dint of perseverance and a decent opportunity to profit off the  
early-morning breakfast rush that got her up with the sun.  
  
Today was no exception. Ukyou rolled out of her futon and  
did her best to stand up without falling over. She staggered over  
to the tiny bathroom and turned on the cold water faucet in the  
sink. She stuck her face underneath and let the water run across  
it for several minutes.  
  
More awake after the extended shock of icy water, Ukyou  
stood and dried herself off. She ran a comb through her long hair,  
but held off pulling it back into the severe ponytail she usually  
wore to school. She took a few minutes to brush her teeth and  
rinse with mouthwash, and then, deciding that she needed to open  
the store if she wanted to make any money before classes started,  
started to change out of the pair of cotton panties and the plain,  
worn men's dress shirt she wore to bed.  
  
She had pulled the panties off over her hips was just  
unbuttoning her shirt when she heard the bang erupt from the  
restaurant downstairs. Startled, she grabbed her battle spatula  
from its customary place next to her futon. There were two more  
loud bangs, each echoing up into Ukyou's room.  
  
Something or someone had just broken into the restaurant.  
It leapt up the stairs in two bounds, and was coming for her!  
  
Her bedroom door slid open with a slam and a large,  
masculine figure loomed broodingly in the darkness at the top of  
the stairwell.  
  
"Oh God, Ranchan. You scared the hell out of me." Ukyou  
exhaled, letting her spatula fall to the ground. Then she realized  
that most of her body was bared by the unfastened dress-shirt.  
Blushing, she jerked her shirt closed and thrust one hand down to  
cover her bare delta. She tried to decide which way to turn, not  
wanting to expose naked bottom to him."Get out of here, you  
jackass! I'm not even dressed yet!" she yelled.  
  
Instead of obeying her commands, Ranma lurched forward,  
his arms outstretched and reaching for her.  
  
Ukyou felt panic rising in her chest. Her heart was still  
pounding, and she suddenly felt very vulnerable and very afraid.  
  
Then she saw Ranma's face.  
  
He looked like he had been stabbed through the heart. His  
expression was wide and full of hurt and need. His eyes were red  
and his cheeks were wet with recent tears. She gulped but didn't  
try to break free when he wrapped his arms around her. She could  
hear and feel his rapid breath in one ear.  
  
"Ranma..."  
  
"Kiss me, Ukyou," he pleaded.  
  
Ukyou started, her eyes opening wide in shock. Did he  
really just say--  
  
Her disbelief was obliterated as Ranma pushed his lips  
against hers. Her mouth opened almost of its own accord, moving  
against Ranma's in response to the outwelling of emotion. After a  
few seconds, she felt his tongue start to move over her lips,  
delicately exploring her.  
  
What was happening? Had she finally won Ranma away from  
the other girls? She hadn't even been trying particularly hard to  
make any moves on him since the debacle with the bunny costume.  
What had happened to the other girls? Shampoo had gone back to  
China, of course. Had Akane given up? Had Ranma broken up with  
her? Did he end their engagement? Perhaps they had an argument.  
Maybe that's why Ranma was so upset.  
  
Hope began to well up in Ukyou's chest. Regardless of the  
causes, Ranma had come to her. He had sought her out, and was  
giving her the affection she always knew he had inside him.  
  
Ukyou suddenly realized how weak she felt in the knees. It  
didn't matter because Ranma was holding her up with the strength  
of his embrace. She suddenly felt a whole lot less like trying to  
keep Ranma from seeing her half-naked body. She let go of her  
shirt and wrapped her arms around his back, hoping the kiss would  
never end.  
  
Indeed, Ranma's hands began to roam over her back, even  
over her naked posterior. He squeezed lightly, pulling Ukyou's  
hips against his own. Their bodies started to move together.  
  
I may be inexperienced, Ukyou decided, but Ranma is really  
good at this. When did he get so good? Does it matter? Do I care?  
I might...  
  
Suddenly, Ranma broke away from her. The kiss had ended  
but Ranma's eyes still burned. Ukyou struggled to catch her breath  
again, not daring to look away from the martial artist's face.  
  
Ranma turned, pulling out of the embrace. He stepped into  
the bathroom with one long stride and turned on the water faucet.  
  
Oh God, Ukyou thought, beginning to shake a little bit.  
  
Ranma splashed cold water in his face, triggering the  
change. She stepped back over to Ukyou, her eyes no less needy  
than before.  
  
"Kiss me again, Ukyou. Please."  
  
Oh god. This was it! This was what it was all about.  
  
"Please Ucchan," Ranma begged. "Please show me that it  
doesn't matter. Please..."  
  
Ranma wanted her to... to... to... *gulp*  
  
Could she? Ukyou had wondered long and hard about how she  
would react when this moment came. In the back of her head she  
knew there was probably no avoiding it. In the dark of night,  
Ukyou had lain awake wondering if she'd ever be able to give the  
female Ranma the same affection as the male. Small things like  
dressing up in cute or sexy outfits weren't really a problem. Even  
giving Ranma free okonomiyaki didn't give her any qualms at all.  
Hell, she gave all her friends free okonomiyaki all the time,  
regardless of gender.  
  
That was it, wasn't it? So long as she didn't have to  
touch Ranma, it was okay. Could she touch Ranma as a girl? Could  
she kiss another woman... even if she was the man Ukyou loved so  
much. Could she?  
  
"Ucchan..."  
  
Trembling, shaking, Ukyou leaned over, trying to make her  
lips purse. He eyes wide, she approached Ranma's breathless mouth.  
  
Closer... closer still... I'm going to kiss a woman.  
  
I'm going to kiss a woman.  
  
I'm going to...  
  
I can't do it.  
  
Ukyou's body froze. Her lips were almost touching Ranma's,  
but Ukyou just couldn't do the deed. She couldn't kiss another  
girl.  
  
She knew Ranma could see the hesitation on her face. Ukyou  
could feel her own expression breaking against her will, filling  
with disgust. She turned away before Ranma could see. She hoped  
Ranma hadn't seen.  
  
Damn.  
  
She turned back to Ranma after doing her best to wipe the  
sick expression from her face. The girl's face was twisted as if  
in agony. Her fists were balled up at her sides, and tears were  
overflowing down her cheeks.  
  
Damn. Damn. Damn. Why did Ranma have to hang it all on  
this one thing? Ukyou clenched her eyes shut as anger started to  
build inside her. Why on earth couldn't he have been happy with  
the kiss?! Couldn't he see how much Ukyou wanted to be with him?  
Why did he have to force the issue? Ukyou would have done  
anything... *anything* for *him*. Why couldn't he accept that  
there were just some things that Ukyou couldn't do for *her*?  
  
How dare he hang it all on that one problem? How dare he  
force the issue when Ukyou loved him so much? How could he be so  
insensitive as to come to her demanding to do the one thing she  
couldn't?  
  
Had Ukyou lost? Was Ranma going to go to one of the other  
girls now? Would any of them do what Ukyou could not?  
  
"God, Ranchan, how could you do this to me?" she demanded  
angrily, quickly refastening the shirt she was wearing.  
  
She looked up but Ranma was already running back away from  
her. She could hear the girl's fleeing footsteps descending the  
stairway.  
  
* * *  
  
Akane looked at the pile of books and magazines in a kind  
of sick wonderment. How had she collected so many? She didn't  
recall spending that much money-- only few hundred yen here or  
there.  
  
After her father's speech the day before, her first  
reaction was to just gather up the whole lot and throw them in  
with the rest of the burnable trash. She sat on her freshly  
repaired bed, staring at the stack, wondering if that was truly  
the best alternative for dealing with them.  
  
Akane realized that she was spending so much time thinking  
about what to do with the magazines so she wouldn't have to think  
about... about what she had said... and what she had done.  
  
Kasumi had been alternating between her bedroom and the  
kitchen, locking the door behind her. Nabiki still wasn't talking  
to her, even though the swelling around her eye had already  
started to fade. Taiyoko was infallibly polite, but cringed every  
time Akane came near.  
  
And Ranma...  
  
How did everything get so far away from me?  
  
She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. It was  
better to think about this mess than it was to figure out the  
other. One she simply could clean up. The other would not be so  
easy to deal with. No amount of cleaning or scrubbing could change  
what happened.  
  
Akane sighed and began to straighten the mess in her  
floor. It was a lot simpler than fixing her bed had been, but it  
also made her think about her problems no matter how much she  
didn't want to.  
  
"When did I buy all this stuff?" she asked, picking up a  
copy of a bondage magazine. She flipped through a few pages,  
grimaced, and threw it back down. She started to push everything  
into one big pile so she could just be rid of it all but then she  
saw the cover of a doujinshi on top of the pile.  
  
It was Ranma's naughty Utena doujinshi.  
  
"Pervert," she hissed, picking the book off the top and  
opening it.  
  
A nasty little voice in the back of her head noted that it  
wasn't Ranma's bedroom floor that was currently ankle-deep with  
porn.  
  
Akane sighed, and before she realized it, had started to  
re-read the story in the Utena book. It was *highly* perverted,  
she thought, but cute in a way, just like the Sailor Moon  
doujinshi, or the Tenchi Muyou book that was dedicated entirely to  
a hot, romantic relationship between Ayeka and Ryoko, or...  
  
"ARGHGHG! I DON'T LIKE GIRLS!" Akane yelled out loud. It  
was a lot easier to just keep saying that over and over again than  
admit that she wanted to keep all the ecchi pictures of beautiful  
women.  
  
Was the best option just to get rid of it all? Did she  
really want rid of it?  
  
After her father's speech, Akane really didn't want to see  
the photographic magazines any more, but the only reason she had  
for getting rid of the manga and the print books were for the sake  
of her ego and her self image.  
  
I'll get rid of those later, Akane told herself. She spent  
several minutes sorting through the mess. Doujinshi and other  
naughty manga went into one stack. Fiction books-- Akane was smart  
enough to realize that they were fiction even if the covers said  
something like 'True Stories of Lesbian Passion'-- went into  
another. Magazines with photographs went into a plastic garbage  
bag. Akane put both the doujinshi and the books on the top shelf  
in her closet. It wasn't like she *had* to hide them anymore,  
but...  
  
Quickly, suddenly eager to be rid of them, Akane took the  
garbage bag down stairs and outside. She tied it up and put it in  
the bin for burnable trash.  
  
When she walked back inside, her father and Ranma's were  
waiting for her. They both had severe expressions on her face.  
  
"What's wrong?" Akane asked, wondering what *else* had  
happened.  
  
"We have come across a matter of great importance to you  
and Ranma, Akane," Soun informed her.  
  
"Yes," Genma said in a slightly accusing manner. "Where is  
your fiancee, Akane?"  
  
Akane looked away, unable to meet either of the men's  
eyes.  
  
"If I remember correctly, you threw him out yesterday  
morning, didn't you?" Soun noted in a passive tone.  
  
"Hai," Akane said, staring at the floor. "School is about  
to start and--  
  
"This is an important matter, Akane," Genma said. "More  
important than a day of school. Find Ranma and bring him back  
here."  
  
"But--"  
  
"No buts, Akane," Soun said. "Time is running out."  
  
Akane sighed deeply and stepped back outside.  
  
* * *  
  
Ranma felt stupid. He felt stupid for believing that  
either Kodachi, Nabiki, or Ukyou would ever want him without at  
least some conditions. Worse, he felt stupid for pressing the  
matter once it became important to him.  
  
The answers were starting to become obvious... at least  
Ranma hoped they were. There was no hope for Nabiki. She was gone,  
lost to Taiyoko if not to Ranma's own masculinity. He was stupid  
to think that he ever really had a chance with her. Kodachi and  
Ukyou both expected him to *stay* masculine... at least he thought  
they did.  
  
He had to cure the curse. That was his only option if he  
ever wanted to find love... or was it lust? He didn't know. Did  
being attracted to a girl's body meant you loved her? Ranma didn't  
think that was the case, but he had been willing to do anything  
Kodachi wanted. He would also have done anything for Ukyou, if  
only she'd... she'd...  
  
The worst part was that Ranma suddenly didn't want a cure!  
He wanted to feel love both ways!  
  
Ranma gagged silently, trying to will himself not to be  
sick on the sidewalk in front of him. The realization was painful,  
but it had been coming for some time. As a girl, he had loved it  
when Nabiki touched him. It was just as wonderful, if not more so,  
than when he and Kodachi had touched each other.  
  
My damned body is still making decisions for me, he noted  
sadly. Was he that stupid, that his body could do what ever it  
wanted as a guy *or* a girl, and he couldn't control it?  
  
He felt pretty stupid.  
  
With that particular circle running round and round in his  
mind, he sat forlornly on a park bench near Furinkan high not far  
from Ucchan's. Kunou, dressed in his Furinkan High uniform, was  
upon him before he realized it.  
  
"Oy, Sempai," Ranma said weakly, hoping that his face  
wasn't still red from crying.  
  
Kunou sat down on the bench and laid his bokken across his  
knees. He sat back and stared up at the sky.  
  
"How best to say this..." he murmured. "Saotome... I wish  
to implore you to forgive my sister."  
  
Ranma clenched his eyes shut. "Like you know about it," he  
growled out.  
  
"Indeed," Kunou replied. "But there are many hints as to  
what transpired last night-- too many to be ignored. My unclad  
sister running down the hallway, screaming her head off. The  
pigtailed girl's voice-- your voice-- calling after her. She  
refused to come out of her room this morning, you know. She's  
quite ashamed of herself for the way she treated you."  
  
Ranma was silent, but still wouldn't meet the kendoist's  
eyes.  
  
"Kodachi has a very difficult time... accepting. More  
difficult than I do, if you can believe that."  
  
"That would be pretty hard, yeah," Ranma ceded.  
  
"She does care very much about you, and I would very much  
like to see the two of you together."  
  
"You just want another shot at Akane," Ranma said,  
mockingly.  
  
"I will not lie when I say that the thought has crossed my  
mind," Kunou admitted. "But I love my poor, strange sister, and I  
believe that she truly loves you."  
  
"I don't know who I love," Ranma admitted in a low,  
carefully controlled voice. "Or why. Yeah, it... it coulda  
happened between me and her last night, but now that I've thought  
about it for a little while, I think that maybe it was just  
because she was half-naked when she came onto me. She's pretty...  
beautiful even... but I'm not sure I feel the way about her she  
does about me. Hell, I don't even know how I'm supposed to feel."  
  
"Decide," Kunou suggested. "It's easy to fall in love with  
a woman's body or her face... very easy," he admitted guiltily.  
"As I've recently discovered, it's an altogether different matter  
to fall in love with a woman's soul."  
  
Ranma started, surprised at Kunou's tacit admission, but  
also stunned by the depth of his words.  
  
"If you love my sister, woo her. Seduce her. Make her  
yours," Kunou said. "If you're not sure, date her. Treat her.  
Enjoy her presence, but do not take advantage of her. If you  
decide you don't love her, break her heart and allow her to start  
anew."  
  
"I've tried that already!"  
  
"Tell her, 'I can never love you', just like you told me."  
Kunou said.  
  
Ranma was silent. Nabiki had said as much to him. "Even  
when you're a girl, you're still a man. I could never love a man!"  
Was it really that simple? Could Ranma bring himself to do it even  
if it was?  
  
"Thanks, Sempai," he said, still unsure what to do.  
  
Kunou nodded and rose. Holding his bokken by his side, he  
stared at the sky for a few minutes and strode away.  
  
"Holy crap," Ranma muttered out loud as the tall kendoist  
disappeared from view. "I just took love advice from Kunou."  
  
It was a few seconds later when another figure appeared.  
It was Akane.  
  
Ranma was silent. A dozen words came to his mouth, but he  
bit his tongue to keep them flying out.  
  
She was... distressed. Her face was red. Her eyes, which  
would not meet Ranma's, were a mixture of agony, shame, and anger.  
Her fists were clenched at her side. She seethed with hatred...  
but not at Ranma. It was as if all her loathing was directed  
inward.  
  
Finally, Ranma opened his mouth to break the silence.  
"Hey--"  
  
"Our-- Sorry," Akane grumbled, stumbling over Ranma's  
words. "You go first."  
  
"No, you." Ranma said, unsure of how he felt and even more  
unsure of how to deal with the situation.  
  
"My dad and your dad want to see you," she said. "They  
sent me to get you."  
  
"Okay."  
  
Akane swallowed obviously. Wordlessly, she turned around,  
and walked back to the dojo.  
  
"Are you coming or-- EEE!" she yelped, not realizing that  
Ranma had gotten up and was walking behind her before she turned  
her head back. "Don't do that! You scared the hell out of me!"  
  
"Funny," Ranma noted. "That's the second time I got that  
today. Ucchan said the same-- ah damn," he cut himself off,  
realizing that Akane's face had grown even more red at the mention  
of the okonomiyaki chef's name.  
  
"What did you do to her anyway?" Akane asked curiously  
after several seconds. "She was swearing about you like a sailor  
when I got there."  
  
"You were at Ucchan's?" Ranma asked.  
  
"I was supposed to find you," Akane noted as they walked  
along.  
  
"I asked her to kiss me," Ranma said firmly after several  
seconds. He clenched his jaw, waiting for the explosion.  
  
Akane turned away, but Ranma could see her start to shake.  
Was it anger? Sadness? Finally, she turned her face up to the sky.  
Ranma saw a single tear course down her cheek. "I'm not sure why  
she would be upset about that. I figured your 'cute' fiancee would  
be happy that you had come running into her arms."  
  
"It was in the way I asked," Ranma said flatly.  
  
They walked in silence for several more minutes.  
  
"So," Ranma said in an accusing tone. "You kill Taiyoko  
yet?"  
  
"No," Akane said, turning her face back away from him.  
"Father said she could stay as long as she wanted. She and Nabiki  
slept in the same bed again last night."  
  
Ranma raised one eyebrow. "He's cool with that? Well, I  
guess he'd have to be. Two out of three daughters can't be wrong,  
can they?"  
  
"I'M NOT A PERVERT!" Akane shouted, turning back to Ranma.  
  
"I ain't the one who keeps saying 'Pervert'," Ranma  
snapped back.  
  
Akane opened her mouth to retort, but nothing made its way  
out.  
  
"Go ahead, slap me again," Ranma encouraged. "It'll make  
you feel better."  
  
Akane let her arm fall. She didn't even realize that it  
had come up. Her face bowed in defeat and shame, she turned back  
away from Ranma.  
  
"Just tell me one thing, Akane," Ranma said quietly,  
almost wistfully, a few seconds later.  
  
"And what's that?" Akane demanded defensively.  
  
"Why?" Ranma said, staring her straight in the eyes.  
  
Akane flinched away from his glance. "Why what?"  
  
"Why all of it," Ranma clarified. "Why the girly  
magazines? Why try to kill Nabiki and Taiyoko? I mean, I was  
surprised too... even angry, but you just kinda went nutzoid night  
before last. I guess... more than anything else I wanna know why  
if you were interested in girls... you weren't interested in me."  
  
"I'm not..." Akane started to stammer. "I'm..."  
  
Akane glanced up at Ranma, but saw no accusation in his  
face. There was only loss and sadness.  
  
"When you had your surgery," she began. "Doctor Tofuu said  
you had developed more female sexuality than you had male  
sexuality."  
  
Ranma nodded. He vaguely remembered something to that  
effect, but hadn't really thought about it. At the time, he  
thought the doctors were talking about his curse, but didn't  
really understand what they meant. He thought they meant his girl-  
body was more attractive than his real form and hadn't thought  
about it since. Now it meant something altogether different.  
  
"But that ain't the case, right Akane? Right?"  
  
Akane couldn't quite meet Ranma's boring gaze.  
  
"Tell me that ain't right, Akane."  
  
"You were a girl for three months, Ranma," Akane said.  
"And before that, you had times when you acted more like a girl  
than a boy. When you first got hurt, you acted like a girl, and  
that wasn't the first time that happened. I thought to myself,  
right at first, that sometimes you were more feminine than I was."  
  
Ranma exhaled deeply, unsure of how to react to Akane's  
statement. She wasn't being insulting, but that didn't mean the  
words didn't sting any less, or that they didn't echo Ranma's own  
feelings from earlier. How could he even *think* about wanting it  
as a girl if at least a little of what Akane said wasn't true.  
  
He sneered and started to snap back at Akane for her  
comments. "That still doesn't explain why--"  
  
"I didn't know if I'd be able to marry a woman," Akane  
said out loud, cutting him off. "But the idea that I might have to  
started to seem more and more realistic. I tried to get closer to  
you, and you seemed interested... but then you kissed Kunou."  
  
Ranma exhaled deeply.  
  
"Suddenly, I was thinking a lot more about what a husband  
and wife do together. I also started wondering about what two  
women would do together," she continued, her voice shaking, "since  
you and I might have to do that. I saw a page in that filthy manga  
you brought home, and it showed two girls together, so I thought  
that maybe that would be a good place to start. I bought a couple  
of manga like it and... and... and..."  
  
"And?"  
  
"They were wonderful," Akane said, shuddering. "They were  
so romantic and so sexy. Nobody ever yelled at each other in the  
stories. Nobody ever fought. They were all just in love with each  
other, and then they... they..." Akane coughed, unable to finish  
her sentence. "After I read them, I bought a magazine that had the  
same kind of things in it. I bought a book with stories about  
women... together... in it and... and... and..." Akane took a deep  
breath, but was unable to stop the shaking. "I realized something  
was wrong with me. Girls aren't supposed to like those kinds of  
things, right?"  
  
"Apparently some of them do, or Nabiki and Taiyoko  
wouldn't have gotten together," Ranma noted.  
  
"I was frightened," Akane continued. "I'm still not sure  
that something's not wrong with me. It's just not right, like  
Kasumi said. Before I saw what Nabiki and Taiyoko were doing, I  
was convinced I could stop liking that kind of thing if I tried  
hard enough!"  
  
"So you like girls now," Ranma summarized. "But you think  
there's something messed up about that, so you tried to kill  
Nabiki when she admitted she liked girls too."  
  
"No!" Akane countered. Her face was full of indecision and  
self-loathing. "Yes... no... I don't know."  
  
Ranma sighed deeply.  
  
"Then you said... you said that Nabiki had touched you,"  
Akane continued. "Did you... Did Nabiki and you..."  
  
"Did I have sex with Nabiki?" Ranma guessed.  
  
Akane paled, and looked away.  
  
"I could have. I was so close to it that it probably  
didn't matter," he told her honestly. "We were touching each  
other. It was only because I was afraid we'd get caught that we  
didn't. 'Course that pissed her off and sent her running to  
Taiyoko. I think you heard all about how that turned out."  
  
Akane's shaking had increased. Her hair had fallen down  
over her eyes, but Ranma could see that her cheeks and ears were  
burning red.  
  
"Oh, if that pisses you off, you're gonna love this,"  
Ranma added nonchalantly. "I tried to have sex with Kodachi last  
night, but she ran away from me after she spilled champagne down  
my back and turned me into a girl. That was a real kick in the  
nuts... even if I was a girl at the time."  
  
"You... you..."  
  
"I ain't been thinkin' real straight lately," Ranma said.  
"I think I know what guys mean now when they say they've been  
thinking with their dicks." He looked away from her. The sight was  
just too painful. "I haven't had anything to hold onto. I can look  
back now and wonder what would have happened if you were  
interested in me. One kiss would have saved me, Akane."  
  
Several seconds of silenced passed between the two before  
Akane started sniffling.  
  
"It's all messed up now, isn't it?" she asked, crying.  
"There's no chance at all, is there?"  
  
"No," Ranma said, feeling more tired than he ever had  
before in his life. "No, there ain't."  
  
* * *  
  
  
When Ranma and Akane walked back into the Tendou home,  
there were significantly more people there than either of them  
expected.  
  
"Ranma-sama, please--"  
  
"Ranchan, you have to--"  
  
Kodachi and Ukyou mobbed Ranma from either side, each  
grabbing an arm.  
  
"Ranchan," Ukyou said, trying to drown out Ukyou. "I'm  
sorry about what happened earlier. If you'll just give me another  
chance then I'm certain that I'll be able to learn how to--"  
  
"Ranma-sama," Kodachi raised her voice. "You must return  
to the Kunou mansion so that I can try to make up for last night's  
unfortunate incident."  
  
"Unfortunate incident?" Ukyou demanded.  
  
"And what would you care about it, servant?" Kodachi  
sniped.  
  
"Well, Ranchan *kissed* me this morning!"  
  
"You aren't the only one," Akane muttered darkly as the  
pushed past the three into the main room.  
  
Inside, Tofuu-sensei was waiting with all the Tendous,  
Saotomes and Taiyoko. They looked on curiously  
  
"He kissed you?! He kissed me first!" Kodachi cried out,  
raising her voice. "Isn't that right, my darling?"  
  
Ranma didn't even struggle as they tugged back and forth  
on his arms.  
  
How did everything get so far away from me? He shook his  
head, not understanding, but beginning to lose hope. Was Nabiki  
right? Did he *need* a harem to be happy? Ranma certainly didn't  
feel happy. He felt like he was in over his head. He felt like  
there was somehow a battle going on around him, and that we was  
about to lose-- lose big.  
  
"Ranma-sama, tell this hussy how close we are!" Kodachi  
urged him. "Tell her how much you love me!"  
  
"How close you are?! Ranchan, you better let the lunatic  
know she's hallucinating."  
  
Ranma felt sick to his stomach. Before he changed back  
into a guy, everyone had been getting along so well. Everyone had  
become friends, and was willing to have a good time together  
without worrying about romance, love, or sex. Now he was in  
exactly the same boat he was before the damned surgery. The girls  
were fighting. Akane was mad at him and he suspected from Kodachi  
and Ukyou's rising voices that they would soon would be too.  
  
The thing that really dug into his skin was that this  
really was all his own fault. This was the result of letting his  
body do his thinking for him.  
  
"Ranma," Genma said in a voice loud enough to drown out  
the girls. "Come in here."  
  
Eager to get away from being ripped in half, Ranma pulled  
free and walked into the main room. He noticed that all eyes were  
on him. He glanced at his father for direction, but Genma's face  
was impassive. He noted that his mother sat to next to the man in  
one of her newer dresses, holding Genma's hand. Kasumi and Nabiki  
were present, but were sitting across the room from each other.  
Nabiki was openly holding hands with Taiyoko. Kasumi seemed a  
little jumpy, but kept her silence.  
  
"Sit down, Ranma-chan," Nodoka urged over the cacophony of  
the argument raging behind Ranma.  
  
Ranma nodded and kneeled down. Nodoka glared over her  
son's shoulder until both Kodachi and Ukyou got the hint to shut  
up.  
  
"Ranma," Soun said, "I understand that you've had some  
problems with my daughters in the last few days."  
  
Ranma didn't even have to answer. He just rubbed his eyes  
in weariness.  
  
"We've had a bit of an upheaval," Soun noted, almost as if  
it was no big deal. "And while you may have been the catalyst for  
what happened, I believe that it would have happened sooner or  
later regardless of your involvement. That does not mean that  
matters here are not very problematic, or that your presence isn't  
making a bad mess worse."  
  
"What on earth are you talking about?" Ukyou demanded.  
Kodachi, however, was suspiciously eyeing Nabiki and Taiyoko,  
alternating expressions of disgust and suspicion on her face.  
  
"That said, I think it's best to modify the arrangement  
between our families, at least in the short term."  
  
Ranma looked up, a sick, queasy feeling in his gut. He  
suddenly knew what was about to happen.  
  
"The engagement between Ranma and Akane is dissolved,"  
Genma said. "At least until the problems here at the Tendou Dojo  
are resolved."  
  
Yet another foundation stone crumbled out from underneath  
Ranma and fell away. He felt like he had been stabbed. He honestly  
didn't know how he stayed upright.  
  
Ukyou smiled triumphantly, her mouth opened to proclaim  
her possession of Ranma.  
  
Kodachi was similarly about to start shouting, but Genma  
held his hand up, silencing both girls.  
  
Ranma's last handle on the situation was gone. He was  
losing a fight he didn't even know the rules for. He didn't even  
know what he was fighting for. He just knew that the consequences  
of losing would affect him for the rest of his life.  
  
"Now that that's taken care of," Genma said, "I have a  
proposition for you, Ranma."  
  
Ranma nodded sickly, eager to get all the bad news out at  
once.  
  
"Your mother and I happened across an old acquaintance a  
few days ago," Genma said. "One with a lucrative business  
proposition. He is going to be in a highly profitable situation  
for the next few months, but needs the kind of protection that  
only highly trained martial artists could give him."  
  
"So what's the catch, old thief?" Ukyou asked from behind  
Ranma.  
  
"Indeed," Kodachi retorted. "Why should Ranma partake of  
this proposition when he could lounge in luxury at the Kunou  
mansion under my tender care?"  
  
"Or with me at the restaurant?" Ukyou appended.  
  
Nodoka cleared her throat. "The catch is that you'll have  
to leave the country, son. Your father and I have already decided  
to go. We really do need the money and this is a good opportunity  
for your father. I also believe it's a good opportunity for you. I  
love you and I want you to be happy, so I'll understand if you  
choose to stay here with the Tendous or with one of your  
girlfriends. We'll both understand," she said, squeezing her  
husband's hand.  
  
"Doctor Tofuu says that you are fit and healthy enough for  
this, even after your surgery," Genma said. Tofuu nodded his  
agreement. "Will you come, Ranma?" the bald man asked.  
  
Ranma closed his eyes.  
  
Three months ago, he didn't know that there was this much  
pain or suffering involved in love... or merely trying to figured  
out who you loved. He also had no clue that the temptation of the  
body or the heart could be so confusing.  
  
Indeed, Ranma had gone through his entire 'harem' in a  
matter of days. Now that he had acknowledged his needs and desires  
to each of the girls, he doubted anything could ever go back to  
being like it was.  
  
What was the best way out of this situation? What was the  
best way to defeat this enemy of Ranma's own making? Could it be  
defeated?  
  
"Yes." Ranma whispered. Any enemy could be defeated if  
only you knew how!  
  
"Son?" Genma asked.  
  
Ranma didn't know how to defeat this enemy. Hell, he  
didn't even know how to control his own body. He was losing the  
fight, and if he didn't get away from the situation, there would  
be no hope of winning.  
  
He needed time away... time to figure out what was going  
on... time to figure out how to keep from losing this war of love  
and lust before it was too late.  
  
"I'll go," Ranma said, opening his eyes.  
  
"I've already packed your clothes," Nodoka said. "And a  
taxi is coming for us in just a few minutes. We'll be boarding a  
flight out of the country this afternoon."  
  
Ranma nodded. "Do I need a new passport or anything?"  
  
"I've already taken care of that," Genma said. "Get your  
bags, Ranma."  
  
"Wait a second!" Ukyou protested. "Where ever my Ranchan  
goes, I'll go too!"  
  
"I'll be damned before I let him get away again," Kodachi  
agreed. "I must go with Ranma to comfort him."  
  
"I'm afraid that's quite impossible," Nodoka told both the  
girls. "I'm certain Ranma would love to have you along, but we  
promised not to tell anyone where we were going for security  
reasons."  
  
Ranma was already running up the stairs. He darted into  
his room, seeing it laid bare and empty. Every possession he had  
in the world was in a backpack and a small athletic bag leaned  
against each other in the middle of the floor. He quickly  
shouldered both bags and ran back down stairs.  
  
The front door was open, and a taxi was waiting in the  
street beyond. All eyes were on him.  
  
Kodachi and Ukyou's eyes bored into him. Both their faces  
will filled with shock.  
  
Akane's eyes were on him. Tears ran down her cheeks.  
  
It was like there were dozens of hooks in his body,  
holding him back. This hurt more than anything else Ranma had ever  
experienced. It was worse than being beat on by Ryouga or Mousse.  
It was even worse than having his head cut open.  
  
"I'm sorry about this," Ranma said, his voice catching.  
  
Then he left the Tendou Dojo.  
  
* * *  
  
Ranma was gone.  
  
Even though it had been just a few seconds, it seemed like  
it had been an eternity. The taxi had already disappeared down the  
street. Kodachi and Ukyou each thought that they might be able to  
catch up with the car and find a way to follow Ranma wherever he  
was going.  
  
It was just too shocking. How could Ranma have left? There  
was a huge hole in the room where Ranma wasn't.  
  
Akane turned away from the sight of the disappearing taxi,  
unable to watch any longer.  
  
"I think you girls should leave now," Soun said, stepping  
up between Kodachi and Ukyou. "We have several things we need to  
work out."  
  
"H-hai..." Ukyou murmured, tears beginning to run down her  
face.  
  
"I'm certain he'll let you know just as soon as he  
returns," Soun told them. Gently, yet firmly, he ushered them out  
of the house and saw them off in opposite directions.  
  
That task done, he stepped back inside the house.  
  
Akane was kneeling in the middle of the floor with her  
face in her hands, weeping silently.  
  
"Akane," her father said, taking a deep breath. "Do you  
have something to say to your sister or Taiyoko?"  
  
It was a few seconds before Akane could speak, but  
eventually, she croaked out, "I'm sorry I hit you. I'm sorry I  
tried to hurt you."  
  
Nabiki sighed at great length and rolled her eyes. Taiyoko  
patted the dark-haired girl once on the shoulder, before backing  
away quickly.  
  
"We have many things to discuss, Akane," Soun announced.  
"With the end of the engagement, we need talk about what's going  
to happen to the dojo. As you know, I can't simply pass it on to  
you because of inheritance taxes. We don't have enough money to  
pay them and I don't think that's going to change any time in the  
near future. We could have easily side-stepped that if I had given  
the dojo to Ranma, and therefore to you by proxy as his wife."  
  
But... Ranma was gone. Akane bowed her head, utterly  
defeated.  
  
"Since it looks like that will no longer be the case, I've  
talked with Tofuu-sensei about taking over the dojo when I retire.  
The dojo will legally belong to him, but you will continue to  
practice here and hopefully teach martial arts classes here.  
Nabiki has agreed to help by keeping the dojo's finances in order.  
The doctor will be paying her a small fee to do book keeping for  
both the dojo and his office."  
  
"Hai..." Akane replied meekly.  
  
"Is this what you want, Akane?" Soun asked. "Is this what  
you're willing to settle for?"  
  
Akane couldn't answer. Ranma was gone. Her heart had been  
ripped out, and all she could feel was loss and pain. She had been  
so mad and so fearful, but now that the martial artist had left,  
there was nothing in her but regret for what she had done and what  
she had said.  
  
"Don't you want more?" Soun demanded. "Doesn't some small  
part of you want to be with Ranma?"  
  
Even if she did, wouldn't Ranma just run off with one of  
the other girls at the first opportunity? Wasn't it hopeless?  
Didn't he hate her now? Wasn't she still mad at him for everything  
he had done, and everyone he had done it with?  
  
"One kiss would have saved me, Akane," Ranma had told her.  
  
"What else can I do?" Akane bawled.  
  
"You have one last chance, Akane," Soun said, holding out  
a airline ticket and a new passport booklet.  
  
Akane's eyes opened wide in shock and disbelief.  
  
"If you want to inherit the dojo with Ranma, then I expect  
you to be on the plane this afternoon, Akane."  
  
"But... but... but..."  
  
"If not... If you stay here, the plans I just talked about  
will go forward. It's your choice, Akane."  
  
"But... but... but..."  
  
"We already packed your stuff, Akane," Nabiki said, not  
meeting her sister's disbelieving stare.  
  
"That's right," Kasumi said, somewhat evasively. "Nabiki  
and Taiyoko were... helpful."  
  
"But... but... but..."  
  
Tofuu knelt down in front of her. "My car's running out  
back, Akane. We can be at the airport in just a few minutes.  
  
Still favoring one eye, Nabiki knelt down next to Akane  
and grabbed her by the arms. She pulled the shorter girl to her  
feet. Then, quite deliberately, she leaned over and kissed Akane  
on the cheek. Akane tried to pull away in alarm, but Nabiki  
wouldn't let her go.  
  
"Akane... you'll always wonder if you don't try," Nabiki  
whispered in her ear, tightening her grip and digging her nails  
into Akane's forearm. "You'll be left wondering for the rest of  
your life what you could have had if don't take this opportunity.  
If you *don't* take this opportunity, I promise you that I will do  
everything I can to make your life a living hell."  
  
Akane backed away from her sister, her mouth working open  
and closed like a fish out of water.  
  
"Go, Akane," Kasumi urged her. "Remember that your family  
loves you."  
  
"Will you go, Akane?" Soun asked, holding the tickets out  
to his daughter.  
  
A second of silence passed between those assembled in the  
Tendou's front room.  
  
Finally, Akane opened her mouth.  
  
"Yes."  
  
- - -  
  
~to be concluded 


	20. Living

Ranma and his friends belong to Rumiko Takahashi. They're used  
here without permission.  
  
This story contains some adult material. Reader discretion is  
advised.  
  
------------------------------  
newRanma 20: Living  
  
by Chris Jones  
------------------------------  
  
"What the hell are you doing here?" Ranma asked  
incredulously.  
  
Akane didn't answer, but stood her ground. For the life of  
her, she still didn't know why she'd come. Nabiki's words still  
echoed in her ears, however.  
  
"You'll be left wondering for the rest of your life what  
you could have had if don't take this opportunity."  
  
"It's very simple, Ranma," Genma said. "We need three  
martial artists. It will be good experience for the both of you."  
  
"But... I thought I was getting away from all the--"  
  
"You are getting away," Nodoka said, leaning down between  
the two young adults. "The both of you."  
  
"This was your idea, wasn't it?" Ranma demanded of Akane.  
  
"It was my father's idea," Akane hissed in protest.  
  
"Quiet, children," Nodoka shushed them. "Here comes  
Takamura-san."  
  
Genma explained that Takamura was an old friend from high  
school who had gone into geology after graduating. He and the two  
men he had with him had happened across a gold deposit in the  
jungles of western India. The three had bought the land and its  
associated mining rights, but had yet to set up any kind of formal  
operation. They were about to literally set up a gold mine, but  
were still in planning stages. They were also concerned about  
their safety, since they wouldn't be able to afford a dedicated  
security force until they were much closer to breaking ground.  
  
"I thought you said you hired three martial artists," one  
of the other men asked the Saotomes' client.  
  
"These two were trained by that same panty-freak you and  
Tendou hung out with in high school, right?" Takamura asked Genma.  
  
The older man nodded sadly.  
  
"I can assure you that these are three of the scariest  
martial artists in Japan," the geologist told his friend. "We've  
got nothing to worry about!"  
  
* * *  
  
The plane trip from Tokyo to Bombay left Ranma and Akane  
little time to argue or even discuss what had happened or why it  
had happened. All the two of them knew was that Genma and Nodoka  
both wore very smug expressions for the entire trip and did their  
best to shove the two teens as closely together as they could  
manage.  
  
Ranma was feeling as if he had been pretty cruelly duped  
by his parents. He was supposed to be getting away so that he  
could figure out how to fix the problems with his love life, not  
dragging them along with him.  
  
Akane felt like the odd man out. She definitely felt like  
Ranma didn't want her there, but also that the geologists didn't  
think she could do the job the Saotomes had volunteered her for.  
It made her angry. It made her want to prove herself. It also made  
her wonder what she had gotten into, and if she could handle that  
and trying to get along with Ranma at the same time.  
  
Both of them sighed when they heard Genma explaining to  
his old friend that his 'daughter' might be joining them from time  
to time.  
  
Bombay was a teeming, living metropolis full of people,  
businesses, and life, but the group got to spend very little time  
there. In fact, just as soon as they had picked up some supplies  
and the off-road truck that Takamura and his associates had  
reserved, they headed out of the city and eventually reached the  
man's tract of land out in relatively un-touched jungle.  
  
The area they were interested in was hilly and thick with  
dense vegetation. It wasn't quite like a an adventure movie, but  
at one point Genma did pull out a machete to lead everyone through  
a thick patch of brush.  
  
Once they got settled in, the geologists' routine was  
fairly straightforward. They would place a device on a clear patch  
of ground, load a small explosive charge inside it, detonate it,  
and then wait for Takamura's laptop computer to analyze the  
vibrations the loud bang caused. After a couple hours, they'd do  
it again a few hundred meters away.  
  
Besides the big bang every couple hours, it was mind  
numbing for Ranma. Once the geologists had gotten used to the  
Saotomes' presence, it very quickly became a repetitive procedure.  
On the plus side, Genma and Ranma got to spar or lounge around  
doing nothing while soaking of Nodoka's cooking in vast  
quantities.  
  
Since it rained every few hours in the jungle, Takamura  
and the other geologists got to meet the Saotomes' 'daughter' a  
few times.  
  
Since she and Ranma still weren't speaking, Akane spent a  
little more time with the geologists, picking up a little of the  
theory behind what they were doing. She also picked up a few  
phrases in Hindi from one of the geologists.  
  
There was very little real security work to do. Ranma and  
Genma had to ask a few curious locals to leave the premises of the  
research operation from time to time, but these incidents were  
usually handled calmly and with a minimum of fuss. There were also  
very few animals in the jungle that wouldn't run from Genma's  
immense panda form if he growled at them, so their wandering camp  
was safe for the most part.  
  
Despite this, when the camp *was* surprised one evening,  
those present handled the encroachment in a brutally efficient  
manner.  
  
One night about a week and a half after the geological  
survey began, a band of about eight highwaymen who had decided to  
rob the apparently rich foreigners, and make off with their nice  
truck. Three of them were quite surprised to find a redheaded  
pigtailed girl lying unconcernedly against a tree.  
  
The tried to rush her, but never did quite figure out how  
the girl knocked all three of them out and tied them to the tree.  
  
When Ranma was done with her attackers, she hastened to  
the other side of the camp, where a growling panda was menacing  
two others. She tied them up as well.  
  
It was then that Ranma and Genma heard the first cries of  
pain. The girl followed the noises until they found Akane, who was  
raising a dust cloud in her fight with the last three of the  
attackers. The robbers were screaming to get away, but couldn't  
get a few feet away from Akane before they were violently yanked  
back into the altercation.  
  
Huddled together a few feet away, the three geologists  
watched in horror as Akane abused her assailants.  
  
"I think they've had enough, Akane!" Ranma shouted over  
the din.  
  
"What?" Akane asked, holding one of the men by the collar  
of his shirt.  
  
"You broke this man's arm," Nodoka noted, as she walked up  
to the group behind Genma. She gestured to one man who was still  
trying to crawl away. His arm hung limply by his side, twisted at  
a grotesque angle.  
  
Akane chuckled uncomfortably. "Uhhmm..."  
  
After that, the geologists didn't question Akane's or  
anyone else's skill at defending them.  
  
The 'job' quickly turned into a vacation after that. The  
suspicious locals had learned via word of mouth that the  
foreigners were not a danger to those around them so long as they  
were not provoked. The nature of the Genma, Ranma, and Akane's job  
very quickly changed from providing security to merely being  
visible. Some children from a nearby village even started stopping  
by every afternoon to watch the martial artists spar.  
  
Akane learned very quickly that Genma did not have Ranma's  
prejudice against hitting girls. The older man would knock her on  
her ass given the slightest opportunity if she asked him to train  
her. Unlike her father, who was a sensei to the core, Genma was  
more interested in teaching his students to win in any situation  
rather than sharpening their martial arts skills.  
  
Ranma did his best to avoid Akane. He still felt like he  
had been duped by his parents deception, and Akane was at the core  
of that deception. He wanted to get away from his problems, and he  
couldn't do that if Akane was near him all the time.  
  
After a few days, Ranma realized that he was avoiding his  
problems rather than meeting them head on. It was easier to think  
about his job and sparring with his father than it was to ponder  
the painful situation he had left behind him.  
  
Angrily, he did his best to start thinking of possible  
solutions to the mess he had left behind, but none of them were  
satisfactory.  
  
Sitting in the top of a tree, looking out over the lush  
tropical vegetation and distantly listening to a radio that the  
scientists had tuned to a nearby pop station, Ranma considered his  
problems.  
  
The rains came, but rather than seek shelter, Ranma let  
the cool water cascade down over his body, changing him into a  
girl.  
  
"My real problem is that I don't know what I want," Ranma  
admitted out loud to herself.  
  
Now, when she could be alone, it was easy to admit she  
wanted sex-- physical love. But from who, was the question.  
  
Nabiki? Am I in love with her? I certainly thought I was,  
Ranma admitted to herself. She had seen her making love to Taiyoko  
with her own eyes, however. It was pretty hard to discount  
evidence like that.  
  
Nabiki had made it clear to Ranma that as much as she was  
attracted to her, Nabiki was attracted to Ranma because she  
thought Ranma had become a girl not only in body, but mind as  
well. That was a pretty fine distinction, but it was enough take  
Nabiki forever away from Ranma. Even if she didn't have Taiyoko,  
Ranma was male.  
  
The loss was bitter, but Ranma had no choice but to accept  
it.  
  
Shampoo? Shampoo was gone. Ranma suddenly realized that  
either through her own devices or her mother's influence, Shampoo  
had matured considerably in just a few weeks. Ranma hated to think  
that somebody was more responsible than she was, but Shampoo fit  
the bill pretty closely. Again, there was no chance, at least for  
a very long time.  
  
Kodachi? That was a very real option, Ranma thought,  
shuddering a little bit at the memory of the gymnast's lithe body.  
She was a beautiful, sensual person. She claimed that her love for  
Ranma was as deep as the ocean, but the martial artist wasn't sure  
that Kodachi knew what love was any better than Ranma. Even if  
there were no other problems with a relationship with Kodachi,  
Ranma kept thinking about something that Kunou said. He warned  
Ranma not to take advantage of his sister if she didn't really  
love her.  
  
Assuming the curse didn't interfere, It would be easy to  
accept Kodachi's love. It would be even easier to have sex with  
her, sating both their lusts. It would make it only more painful  
in the end if Ranma decided that she didn't love her.  
  
What none of that took into account was the fact that  
Kodachi was very thoroughly disgusted with Ranma's female body.  
  
Does that matter? Do I want sex as a woman?  
  
YES! was the very firm, tingling response from Ranma's  
nether regions as her rain-soaked pants pulled across sensitive  
flesh.  
  
But do I really? Some frightening part of me gets turned  
on by guys, even though I don't really want that. Is it the same  
way with wanting to have Nabiki or Kodachi touch me as a girl? Was  
it the same part of Ranma's body or her mind that wanted that?  
  
I could always have Kodachi as a guy and someone like  
Ryouga or Hiroshi as a girl, that same treasonous part of Ranma's  
mind suggested.  
  
"BLECH!" Ranma said, sticking her tongue out. It was a  
weird dichotomy. Her body reacted warmly to the thought of being  
held and even fondled by a man. It was hard to feel since she was  
already wet, but Ranma was sure that the horrible, terrible  
thought of being penetrated by a man's shaft was making her damp  
between the legs.  
  
"It would feel good, okay?" Ranma admitted to herself.  
"But I don't want guys. I want girls."  
  
Indeed, the thought of Nabiki's gentle caresses did even  
more to heighten Ranma's arousal than the thought of being fucked  
by a guy. So did thoughts about what *might* have happened with  
Kodachi if she hadn't run away when Ranma got a glass full of  
champagne poured down her back. The thoughts of the kiss she tried  
to steal from Ukyou also enflamed her.  
  
"See?" Ranma said out loud. She hoped no one was listening  
to her talk to herself.  
  
The answer seemed to be that she should look for someone  
who didn't mind if she was a girl or a boy. For a few seconds, she  
thought that someone had been Ukyou, but had been proven wrong. If  
anyone could come to terms with someone who changed in appearance  
and behavior so easily, Ranma was sure it would have been a  
practicing transvestite. When it came down to it, Ukyou really had  
no interest in girls at all. Her reaction certainly wasn't as  
violent as Kodachi's, but it still wasn't what Ranma wanted.  
  
Ranma might even convince Ukyou to go along with what she  
wanted at some future date, but figured it would end up a lot like  
the fake date with Taiyoko. She might even be willing, but Ranma  
would always wonder if she wouldn't just be lying there, faking  
emotions she didn't have just to make Ranma happy.  
  
Am I willing to live with one or the other?  
  
The last option was.... Akane.  
  
"Don't even go there," Ranma said out loud.  
  
* * *  
  
A few days later, the group happened across one of the  
small ponds that dotted the vast, hilly property that Takamura and  
other geologists were slowly working their way across. Unlike the  
other ponds, which were full of muddy, stagnant water, this pond  
was cool, fresh, and clear. It was also smelled slightly of  
sulfur. It appeared to be fed by a natural spring.  
  
"Or research has hinted that there might be some springs  
in the area." Takamura indicated.  
  
"Is that good or bad?" Genma asked.  
  
"Could be either," one of the geologists said. "Hot  
springs and gold deposits are sometimes found in the same places,  
but it might also mean that we any shafts we try to sink might  
flood."  
  
After a few hours, the geologists had declared the spring  
safe for human occupation. Nodoka quickly changed out of her  
normal clothes and into a skimpy bikini. She dove into the pool  
and urged the others to join her.  
  
"I envy you, Saotome," Takamura whispered to Genma within  
earshot of Ranma. "When we were in school, I never though you or  
Tendou would snag beautiful wives. But your wife looks the way she  
does and, if Tendou's daughter is any example, his wife was a  
hottie too."  
  
Genma nodded. "It's the martial arts. It does have its  
rewards after all."  
  
"All I have to do to send the girls running away in a  
panic is tell them I'm a scientist."  
  
"It'll be easier once you're rich," Genma assured him.  
  
Akane didn't wait long before donning a modest one-piece  
and diving into the pool after Nodoka. Not too long after that,  
the Saotomes' 'pet panda' surfaced from where ever he'd gone  
missing and hopped into the water to rejoin his mistress.  
  
Ranma sighed, since the only swim wear he'd ever used  
since he was cursed was usually borrowed from one the Tendou  
girls.  
  
"You can use my other swim suit," Nodoka offered.  
  
Ranma gulped, realizing how much of his mother's flesh he  
could see around the tiny string bikini she was wearing.  
  
Still, their trip had been very hot, and although the  
water wasn't freezing by any means, it still looked very  
refreshing.  
  
Gritting his teeth, Ranma allowed Genma to create a  
distraction for the three scientists who were more or less openly  
ogling the beautiful women in the pool. He kicked up a spray of  
water from the pond to splash himself.  
  
Once female, she ran back to the group of tents they had  
slept in the night before and poked around in Nodoka's bag.  
  
Ranma sweated, wondering exactly how much scanty lingerie  
her mother had brought on the trip. There certainly was a lot of  
it in the bag.  
  
"I really wish she wouldn't suggest things like this."  
  
The only thing she could find that even remotely qualified  
as a swimsuit was about 2 centimeters short of being obscene.  
Ranma thought long and hard before trying it on. Even when she did  
put it on, she was very concerned about the fact that the thong  
bottom slid right in between her buttocks, completely baring her  
ass and putting pressure on parts of her anatomy that Ranma  
thought that no article of clothing ever should. It was also  
really difficult to keep the miniscule bikini top from sliding  
down over the tops of her nipples. She wondered how her mother  
managed with this suit, since Ranma was pretty sure the woman had  
larger breasts than she did.  
  
Highly aware of the 'wedgie' sensation the thong bikini  
gave her, Ranma minced back out to the pool. The geologists' eyes  
all bugged out. Even Genma looked a little distressed. Nodoka  
looked genuinely happy.  
  
"You're so beautiful!" she exclaimed.  
  
Ranma rolled her eyes and jumped into the pond next to her  
mother. "My nipples weren't showing were they?"  
  
"No more than usual," Nodoka said.  
  
"What?!"  
  
Nodoka gestured obliquely to the stiffened points Ranma's  
nipples raised in the fabric of the bikini top.  
  
"Yipe! Aren't these supposed to have pads or something?"  
  
"I always take those out," Nodoka explained.  
  
Ranma sighed and submerged herself as deeply as possible  
without actually getting her hair wet with the sulfurous-smelling  
water.  
  
It was only after she soaked for a few minutes that she  
noticed Akane had moved to the other side of the pool and was  
pointedly looking away from Ranma.  
  
Was she blushing?  
  
Ranma was suddenly torn. She was fairly certain that Akane  
was blushing. Her face was red, but lacked the usual actinic glare  
that indicated the extreme rage that Ranma was so familiar with.  
The scientists they were working for had already quit gawking at  
all the feminine flesh. The only other thing Akane could be  
embarrassed about was...  
  
"Hey, Akane! Like what you see?" Ranma asked, suddenly  
standing up out of the water.  
  
Akane's blush deepened, and her eyes narrowed, giving  
Ranma the expression of anger she was more familiar with.  
  
"All I see is an insensitive egomaniac!" Akane shouted.  
  
"Children, please..." Nodoka scolded the pair.  
  
"At least I'm not the pervert," Ranma noted sarcastically.  
  
"No, you're just the tramp," Akane said. "You go through  
your harem like kleenex, and then run away just as soon as you're  
done with them."  
  
Ranma was about to open her mouth, but was unable to  
retort. Akane's comment stung! Was it true? It was at least as far  
as Akane saw it.  
  
Akane quickly left the pool, her expression rapidly  
shifting.  
  
Not really comfortable in the pool any more, Ranma left  
just after Akane was out of sight.  
  
"The girls, they don't like each other?" Takamura asked  
Nodoka later, after he and the other two geologists got in the  
pool.  
  
"It's very complex," Nodoka sighed.  
  
Ranma resisted the urge to seek out Akane and pick a  
fight. She wanted nothing more than to start a screaming match.  
Instead she found another high branch on which to doze while  
everyone else took a well-earned afternoon off. Still wearing the  
ridiculously tiny bikini, Ranma allowed herself to sink into a  
deep sleep far up above the clearing.  
  
When she woke, she had a killer 'bite', and had to dig the  
thong out from in between her buttocks. It was dark, so she didn't  
feel too self-conscious about exposing herself for a few seconds  
to undo the binding situation. She wondered why she hadn't changed  
out of the bikini before as she leapt down to the ground. She was  
about to go back to the campsite when she saw something rather  
odd.  
  
It was a naked, redheaded woman riding on a panda.  
  
Ranma rolled her eyes and looked away for a few seconds  
before her curiosity got the best of her.  
  
"This way," Nodoka urged, pulling on one of Genma's ears  
as she protectively cradled a thermos in her arms.  
  
"GROWF!" the panda agreed.  
  
"Surely they won't mind if we disappear for one night,"  
Nodoka rationalized out loud. "Ranma and Akane will still be there  
after all."  
  
Ranma sighed and turned away from the spectacle. She was  
fairly sure her parents hadn't seen her on their way to whatever  
illicit romp they had planned.  
  
It was a funny sensation. It seemed like everyone but  
Ranma was 'getting some', including her parents. It was so  
frustrating.  
  
Dejectedly, Ranma trudged back to camp with the intention  
of getting the hell out of the uncomfortable swimsuit and back  
into more normal clothes.  
  
The three geologists were still soaking in the spring  
several hundred yards away, so Ranma set up a kettle and stirred  
their campfire up a little in order to heat it. Since she had  
borrowed the suit from her mother's bags, her clothes had been  
left inside the tent Nodoka shared with Akane. Ranma walked over  
to the tent, lifted one of the flaps and...  
  
"Oh my," she uttered.  
  
Her eyes wide in panic, Akane quickly jerked her sticky  
hand away from her uncovered nether-regions and started to  
scrabble around. She grabbed the first thing she could find and  
held it over her bared midsection.  
  
Ranma sweatdropped. "Uhhmmm...."  
  
Realizing that she was covering herself with Ranma's  
shirt, Akane threw it away and grabbed a sheet to cover herself  
with.  
  
She didn't quite manage to cover her feet, or the pair of  
lace panties hanging off one of her ankles.  
  
Ranma blinked, the image burning into her mind. For a  
second... a very brief second, Akane's face had been ecstatic, her  
mouth open in an unsounded moan of pleasure. Her fingers had been  
working very rapidly over and inbetween her petals, and there was  
a thin, glistening coating of moisture over Akane's entire vulva.  
  
Ranma suddenly realized that she knew exactly how Akane  
felt.  
  
"Ah... Sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt or anything," she  
said lamely.  
  
"GET OUT OF HERE!" Akane yelled, still desperately  
scrabbling away from the bikini-clad redhead.  
  
Wordlessly, Ranma let the tent-flap drop and strode away.  
She sat down on a fallen log and sat quietly, trying to decide if  
she was more surprised or amused by what she had just seen.  
  
After a few minutes, Akane came out of the tent, stomping  
angrily. Her face was bright red and covered with a mixture of  
anger and embarrassment.  
  
Ranma couldn't help but let her eyes follow the hem of the  
girl's fluttering skirt, wondering whether she had changed panties  
or pulled those she had on previously back up.  
  
Shamefacedly, Akane sat down on the log next to Ranma.  
  
The redhead was doing her level-headed best not to grin  
like a maniac.  
  
"So..."  
  
"Please," Akane muttered. "Please don't tell anyone about  
that."  
  
"Why should I?"  
  
"Because I'll knock your head off if you do!" Akane  
threatened.  
  
Ranma shook her head. "No, I meant why should I tell  
anyone? It's not like you were hurting anybody. It ain't any of my  
business anyway, right?"  
  
Akane was silent, unable to meet Ranma's eyes. She was  
glaring, however. Ranma wondered when the patch of earth the dark-  
haired girl was staring at was going to start smoldering and catch  
fire.  
  
"That's the second time I've caught you, isn't it?" Ranma  
asked. "That's what you were doing-- or about to do-- when I  
walked in on you that time when I was sick."  
  
"Shut up!" Akane hissed. "I bet you've never done anything  
at all like that, have you?" she griped sarcastically.  
  
Ranma suddenly remembered all her 'long baths'. Her face  
turned bright red, and she had to look away from Akane.  
  
"So the sight of me in a bikini was just too much for you  
to handle," Ranma said defensively, thrusting her chest out.  
  
"That's none of your business!" Akane said. "This is  
pointless. I shouldn't even have bothered talking to you. I  
shouldn't even have come on this idiotic trip!"  
  
"Why did you come?" Ranma asked curiously. "It's not like  
I asked you to."  
  
Akane's glare softened, and became a look of sadness. "I  
guess... I guess I was trying to see if there was any chance at  
all for something between us." She shook her head and exhaled  
loudly. "I'm not going to inherit the dojo if I don't..."  
  
"That's all it is, huh?" Ranma asked. "I guess your dad  
put you up to it."  
  
"That's not all it is!" Akane protested.  
  
Ranma blinked.  
  
"Why don't you just quit bothering me?" Akane asked,  
standing and turning back towards the tent.  
  
"Wait a second," Ranma said, grabbing the girl's hand.  
"What do you mean, 'that's not all it is'?"  
  
Akane was shaking. "You don't even care, so why should I  
bother telling you? You're just going to humiliate me again,  
anyway, so I'm going to stay away from you and spare myself the  
pain. Thanks very much for ruining my life, Ranma!"  
  
"Who ruined who's life? You were the one who ignored  
*me*!"  
  
"After you were fawning all over my sister and every other  
woman in Tokyo who would look at you twice."  
  
"I did not fawn all over every woman who would look at me  
twice!"  
  
"What the hell do you call it then? Nabiki? Kodachi?  
Ukyou? I bet you even made out with Taiyoko, you slut."  
  
"That was because her parents were going to throw... ah  
shit."  
  
"You have absolutely no control over your body," Akane  
accused darkly before stalking away.  
  
"I had just fine control until *somebody* landed me in the  
hospital and gave me a 'get brain surgery free card'," Ranma  
retorted, lunging after her. "You think I wanted any o' this? You  
think I wanted to be attracted to everyone without knowing how to  
deal with it? You think I wanted to have wet dreams about Ryouga  
and Kunou and..."  
  
Akane's glare broke, and the corners of her mouth began to  
turn up. "You... you had... dreams... about Ryouga?" Her face  
contorted as she struggled to keep from laughing.  
  
"Hah hah. It's been a living hell, thanks," Ranma said. "I  
am *not* interested in guys. Just like someone else I know..." she  
said in a denigrating tone.  
  
"That's not true!" Akane said. "I am interested in guys!"  
  
"Says the girl with 'Tails of Passion' hidden under her  
mattress."  
  
"I threw that away!" Akane defended herself.  
  
"Before or after you decided you were interested in guys?"  
  
"ARHGHGHG! I don't even know why I'm still talking to  
you!" Akane cried out. "I don't know what I want, so why don't you  
just leave me alone?"  
  
Ranma paused, a little taken aback by the dark-haired  
girl's words. Hadn't Ranma thought the same thing to herself  
earlier in the day when trying to decide what she really wanted?  
  
"You really don't know?" Ranma asked, more curiously than  
accusingly.  
  
"No!" Akane said, tears coming to her eyes. "Okay? Is that  
enough for you? Are you done tormenting me yet?"  
  
Ranma sat back down on the log and sighed deeply. She  
shifted around a little, wishing the bark of the log didn't dig  
into her backside so roughly.  
  
"So which was it just now?" Ranma asked more out of morbid  
curiosity than anything else. Girls or boys? It wasn't really me  
in this awful bikini was it?"  
  
Akane's face turned red again, and she turned back away  
from Ranma.  
  
"Oh my god! It was... you were fantasizing about me,  
weren't you? But... But I thought you weren't interested in me at  
all."  
  
Akane was still silent.  
  
"You just said that the only reason you came on this trip  
was to try to keep from losing out on inheriting the dojo."  
  
"I said I don't know, okay?" Akane retorted.  
  
Ranma suddenly realized that the argument was affecting  
her oddly. Perhaps it was also the sight of Akane pleasuring  
herself, which was still firmly embedded in Ranma's mind. Either  
way, she realized that she was more aroused than was appropriate  
in such a situation and the thought of Akane fantasizing about her  
wasn't really doing anything to help.  
  
She suddenly felt a little short of breath and a little  
tingly in her abdomen. Ranma suddenly felt very exposed by the  
simple bikini she was still wearing. She struggled to keep from  
wrapping her arms around her barely-clad breasts. Doing so would  
be admitting defeat, and Ranma refused to let her body push her  
around any more!  
  
"So what *do* you know?" Ranma asked curiously. "I mean...  
the room full of girlie mags says to me that you've pretty much  
decided what you want."  
  
"That was a mistake," Akane admitted, sitting back down on  
the log. "Like I said, I already threw most of them away. Just  
like everything else, I didn't know when enough was enough."  
  
Ranma nodded in agreement. It was odd to hear Akane being  
so forthcoming, but it was also strangely cathartic.  
  
"Only 'most'? You kept some?" Ranma didn't know why she  
was being so perverse, but it was difficult to stop. It was like  
when she had to try to keep from scratching at her stitches  
several weeks previously. "So you think you're going to try to  
find a girlfriend like Nabiki, or another boyfriend?" the redhead  
asked.  
  
"When did I say I wasn't interested in *you*?!"  
  
"Just now, when you were talking about inheriting--"  
  
"No!" Akane cut Ranma off. "I mean before. Before you  
starting trying to get into my sister's pants."  
  
"I thought it was pretty clear cut," Ranma said, not  
really feeling that way. "I approached you, but you showed zero  
interest in..."  
  
"No! It was because I thought it was wrong! I was doing  
everything I could not to kiss you!" Akane shouted.  
  
"Bullshit. You wouldn't kiss me if your life depended on  
it," Ranma said raggedly.  
  
Akane's expression narrowed again. Angrily, she leaned in  
and grabbed Ranma by the ears. She pushed her lips firmly against  
Ranma's and began to kiss.  
  
It was clumsy and inexpert, even compared to Kodachi's or  
Ukyou's kiss, but it was fiery.  
  
Ranma had a hard time breathing after Akane pushed her  
away. She wiped her wet lips once on her bare arm.  
  
"There, are you happy?!" Akane demanded. "Now you can't  
say there's a girl you haven't kissed anymore!"  
  
Ranma didn't answer. She grabbed Akane by the shoulders  
and roughly kissed the girl again. She opened mouth against  
Akane's, and wrapped her arms around the dark-haired girl's back.  
Finally, she let the girl go, satisfied that Akane also seemed to  
be having trouble breathing.  
  
"I kiss better than you do," Ranma said.  
  
"I wonder why," Akane deadpanned.  
  
"I just wanted to give you something better to fantasize  
about."  
  
"You're such a egotistical jerk."  
  
Ranma didn't resist when Akane lunged back at her, mouth  
open. Akane didn't resist when Ranma ran her fingers through her  
dark hair, holding Akane in place, or when Ranma thrust her tongue  
into Akane's mouth.  
  
It was like a fight. The two were almost grappling there  
on the log. Even more was passing between them as they vied for  
dominance.  
  
Akane one-upped Ranma's forceful tongue kiss by grabbing  
the girl's bikini-clad breast and squeezing roughly.  
  
Ranma's eyes rolled at the painful sensation, but she  
would not lose the contest. Instead, she thrust her hand up  
Akane's skirt and began to pull at...  
  
Akane wasn't wearing any panties.  
  
She had shucked them when Ranma had caught her, opting to  
put just her skirt on for the sake of expediency, the martial  
artist guessed. Of course neither one of them thought that they  
would be doing what...  
  
What the hell were they doing, exactly?  
  
Ranma discovered that Akane was still quite sticky and wet  
between her legs. Of course she hadn't had any time to clean up.  
  
Unable to break free of the kiss, Akane made a sound that  
was half-threatening and half-inquisitive.  
  
I'm about to get my ass kicked all over the jungle, Ranma  
thought. Akane's going to pound me and put me back in the head-  
trauma ward.  
  
Despite her misgivings, Ranma began to slide her fingers  
down over Akane's naked abdomen, running them through the girl's  
delta. She could feel that Akane was moist and a little sticky as  
far up as her navel. Apparently she got into it a lot more than  
Ranma usually did.  
  
Akane's painful grip on Ranma's breast lessened somewhat  
and started to become more of a kneading sensation.  
  
Ranma realized Akane was trembling as her fingers began to  
probe deeper and deeper between the girl's legs.  
  
Gently, despite the apparent contest they were engaged in,  
Ranma began to stroke Akane's folds. At the same time, she broke  
the kiss slightly, and began to suck on the dark-haired girl's  
lips.  
  
Akane began to make quiet, squeaking sounds. Her other  
hand came up to wrap around Ranma's waist. She gripped tightly,  
crushing Ranma to her.  
  
Ranma pushed her fingers just inside the girl's folds,  
seeking out Akane's--  
  
"Ah!" Akane cried out as her legs clenched together,  
almost bruising Ranma's hand.  
  
She could feel Akane's muscles tense. The girl's grip,  
both on her breast and around her waist, became crushing. Ranma  
only barely kept from shouting out in pain.  
  
Finally, Akane relaxed and slumped against Ranma. She  
released Ranma's breast and allowed her arms to fall limply  
against the log they were sitting on.  
  
After several seconds, Ranma asked, "What did we just do?"  
  
"Oh god," Akane hissed, looking around her. "You don't  
think anyone saw, did you?"  
  
Ranma glanced back in the direction of the spring. It was  
mostly obscured by thick trees and dense foliage. She supposed  
someone could have seen what they had just done from the spring,  
but she could only barely see the shapes of the three geologists.  
She doubted that they had any inkling of just what went on.  
  
What was even more pressing was the thought of the  
burning, needing sensation Ranma still felt. She was fairly  
certain that she had just finished what Akane had started for  
herself in the tent, but now Ranma felt the need for the same  
thing. Was there any way in hell that Akane would do for Ranma  
what Ranma had just done for her?  
  
Both teens jerked a little as a whistling noise erupted  
from the campfire. Ranma turned and realized her kettle had just  
started boiling.  
  
Akane was still shaking, Ranma noticed. For that matter,  
so was Ranma.  
  
"You... ah... didn't... uhmm... ah... get anything... just  
now," the dark haired girl stammered.  
  
"No, I didn't," Ranma said, gulping. She was nervously  
eyeing the hot water out of the corner of her eye, just like she  
knew Akane was.  
  
"Err..."  
  
"You said you didn't know," Ranma said after a few  
seconds. "Would you like to find out?"  
  
Akane didn't say anything.  
  
Feeling more than a little self-conscious, Ranma pulled  
the tiny bikini top off her breasts, allowing them to spring free.  
She tried to pull the thong off as well, but had to roll it down  
over her hips to get it off. Naked, feeling Akane's eyes on her  
back the whole time, she knelt and poured a little bit boiling  
water into a bowl. Rather than waiting for it to cool down enough  
not to burn, she poured a little bit of cool water into the bowl  
until it was almost, but not quite, scalding hot.  
  
Ranma held her breath and splashed herself.  
  
Even the sensation of being splashed with water almost hot  
enough to burn his skin couldn't keep Ranma's natural reaction to  
arousal from showing almost immediately. He blushed at the sight  
of his erect member as it protruded in front of him.  
  
Akane stared in undisguised terror.  
  
"Uhh..." Ranma mumbled uneasily.  
  
"You want to put that thing inside me?" Akane said in  
horror. "I'll be ripped apart!"  
  
"It's not that big," Ranma protested. "I've seen a lot  
bigger," he said uncomfortably.  
  
"But I've never--"  
  
"Neither have I," Ranma said.  
  
Akane frowned. "I thought you said--"  
  
"I wanted to!" Ranma blurted out. "Even thought I was  
going to... but I never actually... uhm... did it."  
  
"You never... not even with Nabiki?"  
  
"Trust me. Nabiki is not even interested in this," Ranma  
said, rolling his eyes a bit. "Listen, we don't have to do this,"  
he suggested, starting to feel a bit put out.  
  
"No! I mean..." Akane began to wring her hands together in  
front of her waist.  
  
Ranma couldn't help but think about what was right behind  
Akane's hands. "You want to? You really want to go through with--"  
  
"I have to find out somehow, right?" Akane blurted out. "I  
just... uhm... how are we supposed to... you know?"  
  
Ranma frowned. He glanced back over his shoulder at the  
spring in the distance. Uncomfortably naked, he grabbed Akane by  
the wrist and pulled her back behind the tents. She was strangely  
docile as she was pushed up against a tree.  
  
Ranma kissed her again, again letting his fingers run  
through her short hair. Akane began to let her mouth move against  
Ranma, not nearly so combative as before.  
  
Her blouse was relatively easy to unfasten. Her bra  
provided a little more difficulty. Akane resorted to flipping the  
cups up and forcefully pulling it off over her head.  
  
"You don't ever do anything the easy way," Ranma noted.  
  
"Like you do?" she asked before Ranma silenced her with  
another kiss.  
  
Her breasts were small, Ranma noted, but that didn't make  
them any less attractive to him. He didn't want to feel them in  
his hands any less, or feel the texture of her hardened nipples  
any less.  
  
Breaking the kiss, he let his fingers begin to brush the  
lower swell of her left breast, his eyes locked on the sight. His  
hand drifted higher, touching her nipple. He could actually see it  
stiffen a little more in response.  
  
"Uhhmm... you like that?" Akane asked.  
  
"You don't?"  
  
"I don't know," Akane said self-consciously.  
  
"Uhh... when I'm a girl, mine kind feel good when...  
uhm..."  
  
"Well it doesn't feel bad," Akane said. She couldn't blush  
any more if she tried. "Maybe you should... Oh!" she gasped as  
Ranma began to squeeze softly, gently pinching the girl's nipple.  
"That does feel a little... oh... ooohhhh..."  
  
He kissed her again as he massaged her breast, paying  
special attention to her nipples all the while. She shuddered  
under his ministrations and kissed back harder. She didn't protest  
when he let his other hand slide down her back and around her  
waist. She even began to buck a bit when he began to slide his  
fingers over her nether-lips again.  
  
Akane wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled Ranma  
tightly against her. He could feel his shaft being pressed into  
her naked stomach.  
  
Akane broke the kiss and took a deep breath. "Do you want  
to... ah..."  
  
"Yeah," Ranma replied, gulping.  
  
"Uhmm... which way?" Akane asked, nervously eyeing the  
unpleasant-looking jungle floor at the base of the tree. It was  
strewn with pebbles, random weeds and other vegetation. The soil  
was more than a little damp from the frequent rainfall.  
  
Ranma didn't particularly want to lie down there either.  
"We could go get one of the blankets," he suggested.  
  
"We could do it on our hands and knees," Akane said at  
almost the same time. "You know... with you behind me. I read it  
in one of my books."  
  
Ranma was shaking badly. "Uhm... yeah. Wait a second... I  
thought all your books were about girls."  
  
"There was a scene where one girl used a..." Akane gulped  
and pantomimed a phallic shape.  
  
Ranma boggled at the implication. Still, he carefully  
lowered Akane to the ground. Her knees sunk into the moist soil a  
little bit. She placed her hands on one of the exposed roots of  
the tree to keep them from getting muddy.  
  
He lifted her skirt, exposing her vulva and muscular  
buttocks. For a few seconds he marvelled at the sight. He had seen  
it before under various circumstances, but never because Akane  
wanted him to. While he had been in a situation to touch those  
parts of the feminine anatomy before, especially when that  
feminine anatomy was his own, he had never really gotten such a  
good view, even of his own female body's nether regions.  
  
Akane's labia pressed closely together as she kneeled,  
completely obscuring her clitoris and parting only slightly for  
her dark opening. Her tiny anus was visible right above that,  
separated from the other orifice only by a thin layer of flesh  
that Ranma knew from experience was very sensitive.  
  
Experimentally, he reached out and brushed the region  
slightly.  
  
"Ack!" Akane yelped. "What are you doing to my butt?"  
  
"Nothing!" Ranma said apologetically.  
  
"Hurry up, already!" she urged him.  
  
Now how was this supposed to work? The mechanics always  
seemed very simple when he fantasized about them, but it was very  
rapidly turning out to be a lot more complex than "insert tab 'a'  
into slot 'b'". She was quite a bit shorter than he was, even when  
he was kneeling too. Should he lean over a little so that he was  
at the same level?  
  
That seemed like the best way to do it. Careful not to  
knock the girl over, he knelt behind her and leaned over her.  
Still, he actually had to grab himself and point his shaft in the  
right direction before it lined up with Akane's waiting canal.  
  
"Tell me... before you-- Yah!" Akane yelped, feeling the  
pressure of Ranma's shaft for the first time.  
  
"Sorry, I thought you knew."  
  
"I can't see anything. How could I have known?"  
  
"Geez, do you wanna do this or not?" Ranma demanded.  
  
"Yes!"  
  
She wanted to do it!. She wanted him! Was such a thing  
possible?  
  
Ranma began to push slightly, trying to slide himself  
inside Akane. He felt a slight pressure before him.  
  
"OWWW!"  
  
"What?" He thought at first that he had pressed up against  
her hymen, something that Ranma did not have as a girl for one  
reason or another. After a few seconds, however, he realized that  
she was also lacking her hymen. Akane was just very tight-- almost  
painfully tight.  
  
Why didn't Akane have a hymen? Wasn't it supposed to be a  
sign of virginity? Had Akane... Surely not, Ranma thought. Akane  
was very athletic, even more so than Kodachi, whose hymen had been  
intact. It was likely to have torn already for some other reason.  
  
"No, don't stop now!" Akane protested as Ranma froze in  
uncertainty.  
  
She was still quite wet as a result of their previous  
activity, so Ranma had little trouble pushing his shaft into her.  
It was wet... and slick... and oh-so tight. It was an incredible  
sensation for Ranma as he worked himself into her.  
  
"Nnnnn..." Akane groaned, her voice catching.  
  
Ranma was afraid that he was hurting her. Akane was still  
trembling, but actually seemed eager to continue. She was pushing  
against him slightly, driving his rigid cock deeper. Ranma gasped  
out loud. He had never felt anything so intense before, not even  
in his most desperate battles.  
  
With his hands on her narrow waist, he started pushing  
more firmly.  
  
"Yah!" Akane shouted, jerking upright a little bit just as  
Ranma started to encounter a little more resistance.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I think that's it," Akane said quietly, touching her  
belly with one hand.. "I think that's as far in as it gets. You  
hit something."  
  
Ranma nodded despite the fact that Akane could not see  
him, and began to pull backwards slowly.  
  
Glancing down, he could see that his member had a little  
blood on it despite the fact that he hadn't torn her hymen. Was it  
really that traumatic for her?  
  
'Cervix' was a word he remembered from his 'Bodywatching'  
book. That's what Ranma had hit inside Akane's body, the bottom-  
most part of her womb. He wasn't sure if that was what was  
bleeding, but he thought that it was possible.  
  
Ranma thrust slowly again, savoring the feel of sliding  
through Akane's tight passage against his length. The girl  
shuddered again, but gasped out loud as his member sunk into her.  
He rocked back, and slowly thrust again.  
  
"Oohh..."  
  
"Does it feel good?" Ranma asked half in curiosity and  
half in dread. He really hoped that he wasn't hurting her.  
  
"It feels... ah..." Akane shuddered a little more. "It's  
very full. Oh. Do that again."  
  
"This?" Ranma asked, thrusting again, but not really sure  
what Akane was talking about.  
  
"Uhmm.... The front," Akane whispered, pushing herself  
more upright. "It's better if you push there."  
  
Ranma shifted his grip so that he was holding her just  
below her breasts. He thrust again, a little more quickly and  
fluidly. Akane cried out, but her cry descended into a groan at  
the last second.  
  
"Again?" he asked.  
  
"Again," she urged him.  
  
Ranma began to thrust again, sliding in and out of Akane  
as quickly as he dared. The girl kept crying as if in pain, but  
her cries become closer and closer to the cries of pleasure that  
Ranma wanted to hear. His grip shifted upwards until his hands  
were grasping Akane's breasts, squeezing and kneading them as he  
rocked against her. She lost her grip on the tree root in front of  
her, but Ranma's strong arms were holding her up.  
  
She kept urging him not to stop and started to urgently  
buck her hips if he slowed at all. Her gasps and groans were  
coming more rapidly now, but she still bit off the occasional cry  
of pain.  
  
All too quickly, Ranma felt like he was about to lose  
control. It was a sensation that he was familiar with as a girl,  
but had never felt before as a guy. All the muscles in his abdomen  
and his legs seemed to want to freeze up. He realized that if they  
didn't slow down soon, it would all be over.  
  
Wasn't Akane supposed to finish before that happened? Was  
it enough that she had already had an orgasm before they started?  
  
Ranma bit his lip, doing his best to control his body. His  
rocking and thrusting motion ground to a halt.  
  
"What are you doing?" Akane asked in irritation.  
  
Wordlessly, Ranma let go of one breast and slid his hand  
down her chest and belly, down over her mound and inbetween her  
lips. He could feel her engorged, sensitive nub, riding right  
below his shaft.  
  
She gasped out loud as he began to slide his fingers back  
and forth over the top of it. There was more than enough moisture  
to provide a coating of slick lubrication for his motions. Slowly,  
he began to thrust again. He could feel the motions of his shaft  
pull and stretch the flesh of Akane's vulva as he stimulated her.  
  
"NNNNNN!!" Akane groaned, allowing herself to be supported  
against his arm. She covered her face with her hands and started  
to scream.  
  
Ranma could feel her start to convulse. Her tight opening  
clenched against him over and over again in short, powerful  
bursts.  
  
It was too much for him. He began to come as well, the  
muscles in his legs locking and his thrusting movements becoming  
erratic.  
  
Akane collapsed, breathing heavily. One hand still on her  
chest, Ranma could feel her heart pounding. His own heart was  
beating almost painfully hard. He could hear the blood rushing  
through his ears.  
  
Slowly, unsure of how to proceed, Ranma lifted himself out  
of his kneeling position. His rapidly softening member slid out of  
Akane easily. It was covered in a thick paste of blood and semen.  
The same mixture began to slowly dribble out of her opening,  
running down over her lips.  
  
"You okay?" he asked quietly.  
  
Akane didn't answer.  
  
A little fearfully, he picked her up by the waist and  
helped her to sit down on the tree root next to him. It was  
uncomfortable, but probably better than sitting in the mud, he  
thought. Not that it mattered. Akane's knees and elbows were  
already pretty dirty.  
  
Her eyes closed, she leaned against him, holding her head  
against his shoulder. He could feel her rapid breaths against his  
naked chest, and was a little surprised at the goose bumps they  
raised.  
  
As the two sat there in silence, the enormity of what had  
just happened came crashing down on Ranma. Neither he nor Akane  
were virgins any more. Indeed, he had just had sex with someone  
who he thought he would never deal with again on any level not a  
half hour before.  
  
Had anyone seen? Had anyone heard his moans of pleasure,  
or Akane's cries? What would Ranma's parents do if they knew?  
  
More importantly, did Akane like it as much as he had?  
  
Ranma clenched his eyes shut, trying to force all the  
questions from his mind.  
  
"Are you okay?" he asked again.  
  
Akane nodded weakly against his chest.  
  
"What did you think?" he asked, trying to keep the hopeful  
tone out of his voice.  
  
Akane exhaled heavily. "It hurt like hell," she finally  
said.  
  
Ranma was crushed. Was that it? Was that the only thing  
she felt? Why did she keep urging him on, if the only thing she  
was feeling was--  
  
"But... it got really good... mostly at the end," Akane  
added.  
  
Ranma blinked.  
  
Akane reached down with one hand, probing at her nether  
regions. She examined her hand for a few seconds, sniffing  
curiously at the sticky mixture of her own fluids, blood, and  
Ranma's seed.  
  
"I'm bleeding?" she asked.  
  
Ranma nodded. "I think most girls do," he noted in as  
offhand a manner as he could manage. "You... you liked it?" he  
asked.  
  
"Honestly, I'm not sure," Akane admitted. "It wasn't what  
I was expecting. I was surprised when you started rubbing me  
again." She wiped her hand off on her skirt and cuddled close to  
Ranma. The martial artist could see the goose bumps starting to  
rise on her naked shoulders even in the warmth of the jungle  
night. "Weren't we just fighting?" she asked.  
  
"Yeah," Ranma answered. What were they fighting about  
again? It was so hard to remember now.  
  
"God, I hope I don't get pregnant," Akane worried.  
  
Ranma felt a sudden clenching feeling in his stomach. They  
had indeed just done everything necessary to conceive a child.  
  
"Uhmmm... Isn't there any way to tell?" he asked  
nervously.  
  
"Not for a few weeks," Akane noted. "I think there's a  
pill I can take to keep it from happening if you're really worried  
about it, but I don't know where to get it, especially out here."  
  
Ranma grimaced. He wasn't sure if that worried him or not.  
It concerned him, at least a little, he decided.  
  
"So which way did you like it better?" Akane asked him.  
"As a girl or a guy?"  
  
"A guy!" Ranma announced wholeheartedly. Then he deflated  
somewhat, his familiar defenses lowering. "Well, really, I didn't  
get to do that much as a girl," he admitted. "You were squeezing  
pretty hard. I think you bruised me," he said, pointing to a spot  
over his pectoral muscle that was still red with Akane's hand  
print.  
  
"Hmmph! You deserved it, kissing me like that."  
  
"Who kissed who?!"  
  
"I think I remembered what we were fighting about," Akane  
said, sighing.  
  
Ranma nodded, rolling his eyes.  
  
"So was I any different... different from the other  
girls?" the dark-haired girl asked meekly.  
  
Ranma paused for a second before answering that.  
  
"Well, I didn't actually get to... you know... with the  
others. God, I really am a tramp," he said out loud.  
  
"No, you've got no control," Akane said quietly. "I think  
there's a difference."  
  
Both teens sighed deeply.  
  
"What have we done?" Ranma wondered out loud, despairing a  
little.  
  
"Something pretty stupid," Akane guessed. "We'll probably  
regret it later."  
  
"Do you still hate me?" Ranma asked after a few more  
minutes of silence, punctuated only by the quiet jungle sounds all  
around them.  
  
"I never hated you," Akane whispered. "I hated me... and  
what you did to me. I'm angry. I'm especially angry that you made  
out with everyone from the moon to Tokyo. But... I don't think  
that I could do... do that... with someone I hated."  
  
Ranma nodded in agreement.  
  
"Are you in love with Nabiki?" Akane asked him in return.  
  
Ranma frowned. "I think I might have been," he answered  
quietly. "My body was in love with her at least," he said  
deprecatingly. "But... that wasn't any good. She was interested in  
what she thought I was and not the real me. I guess Taiyoko was a  
good second choice."  
  
"That was nice," Akane riposted.  
  
"I'm not the one who tried to kill the both of them,"  
Ranma parried. "No... I ain't in love with Nabiki. Even if I was,  
I don't think I am now."  
  
"Are you in love with me?" Akane asked in a tone that was  
almost too quiet to hear.  
  
Ranma thought for a long time before he answered. For some  
reason he suddenly felt like he was back at the Tendou dojo,  
standing out in front of everybody just before he decided to leave  
with his parents. He felt like he was up on a tight-rope and that  
the wrong move would send him cascading down.  
  
"I think... " he took a deep breath. "I think I really  
liked what we just did. I liked it a lot. I've been wanting it for  
a long time. I think that because of that, my body has been making  
me do a lot of stupid things... like making out with Kodachi."  
  
"Well that was honest enough," Akane said, a hint of  
despair entering her voice.  
  
"But... I've also been thinking a lot about what I want  
other than that. When I kissed Ukyou... I was trying to get her to  
kiss me as both a guy and as a girl."  
  
Akane gulped and froze. "Did she?"  
  
Ranma shook his head. "My body tells me a lot of things  
now. It tells me that it would be fun to turn into a girl and have  
sex with Ryouga and Kunou and every other guy who comes near me.  
It tells me that I should try to have sex with the first girl who  
comes along, regardless of the consequences."  
  
"So... am I just the 'first girl'?"  
  
"I didn't even think you'd count as the 'last girl',"  
Ranma admitted. "Actually, I'm surprised as hell that you haven't  
beaten me to death yet for what just happened."  
  
Akane laughed out loud. "Don't count your chickens yet. I  
may decide later that I'm upset about it."  
  
Ranma even smiled a little bit. "Mostly, I think that what  
I want is to understand what I want. You said earlier that you  
didn't know which you wanted. I think that's the case for me too.  
I want someone who's not gonna care if I'm always a guy or not. I  
want someone who's not gonna be mad at me if I want to be a girl  
when... when we have sex."  
  
Several minutes of silence passed between the two.  
  
"That must have been pretty hard to say," Akane guessed.  
"Especially for you."  
  
"It was." Ranma took a deep breath. "I think that right  
now, my body is in love with you, because you let me do that just  
now. I don't know if that means I'm really in love with you, or  
I'm just lusting after you. I don't know if that doesn't mean that  
I'm gonna get pissed off again or if you're going to start hating  
me, or... or... or whatever. More and more, I'm beginning to  
realize that I don't know what love really is."  
  
Akane nodded. "I think that maybe I don't know either.  
Somewhere in the back of my head, I wonder if there weren't a lot  
of other things that made me want to do... that-- have sex with  
you. There's inheriting the dojo to think about... beating all the  
other girls. I want to do it again, though," she said. "I want to  
feel that again... with you. But that's just what you said-- Lust.  
I don't even know if I want you to be a girl or a guy when we do  
it."  
  
Ranma nodded, smiling. "So despite the fact that we're  
risking getting you pregnant, we don't know if girls or boys are  
better, and we're not even sure who loves who, we both want to  
have sex again."  
  
Akane looked skywards for a second. "Yes. That about sums  
it up."  
  
Ranma shook his head. "Maybe I was just born horny. Both  
my parents always seem to want to go at it like rabbits. You  
should have seen them earlier. Scariest thing you've ever seen--  
grown woman riding a panda."  
  
"Ewww!" Akane's face turned green.  
  
"Not like that!" Ranma shouted. "I mean, she was actually  
riding him. They were sneaking off into the brush somewhere to get  
some time alone."  
  
"Oh... Actually that sounds pretty romantic," Akane noted  
wistfully.  
  
"And what did we just do?"  
  
"Uhhmm..." Akane evaded. "We better get cleaned up before  
they or the others get back," she said, gesturing to the sticky,  
muddy mess they had made of themselves.  
  
Ranma darted briefly back into the front of the camp,  
keeping an eye out for any probing eyes. He dashed inside the tent  
he shared with his father and quickly located a fresh pair of  
boxers and his red Chinese shirt. By the time he came back out,  
Akane had refastened her blouse and was cleaning the damp soil off  
her arms and legs with the rest of the water Ranma had heated  
earlier.  
  
"Listen," he told her quietly. "I'll make you a deal.  
Assuming you don't get pregnant and make this all a moot point,  
let's be friends... until both of us decide what we really want."  
  
Akane looked at him seriously. She had been smiling just a  
second before, but now her expression was open and fearful. He  
realized what an incredible power he had to hurt her right now.  
  
"You keep me from letting my body make my decisions for me  
like I have been, and I'll help you keep your secret," he offered  
sincerely. "You give me time to work things out, and I'll give you  
time too. You help me with my problems and I'll help you with  
yours. Then... maybe... I dunno. Maybe you can inherit the dojo."  
  
Akane was silent, but a spark of hope flared in her eyes.  
  
"Maybe we'll decide that we can't stand each other," Ranma  
amended. "Maybe we'll decide we made a real mistake here, and each  
go looking for someone else. Maybe... maybe we just won't know  
until we know. Until we do know... friends?"  
  
"Yes," Akane said, reaching out to him.  
  
Ranma grabbed her hand and held it tightly.  
  
"Friends," Akane agreed. "Very close friends," she  
laughed, gesturing at her body, which was still quite mussed. "And  
then... maybe something more."  
  
"Maybe," Ranma said in a tone that promised her the world.  
  
------------------------------  
Epilogue  
------------------------------  
  
The customers of Yu Sing's 'Famous Cantonese Cuisine' were  
packed tightly into the restaurant. In fact, there had been a line  
outside the door for the last few days comprised of both tourists  
visiting Hong Kong and locals who lived in or around the bustling  
city. Yu Sing, a fat, older man, smiled bitter-sweetly as he  
looked over the crowd, knowing his restaurant had never done so  
good, and would likely never do quite so well again.  
  
Despite the occasional mouthful of peppered beef or  
lightly-seasoned noodles that traveled from plate to mouth, most  
of the attention in the restaurant was focused not on the food,  
but on the two beautiful waitresses who whirled between tables in  
high heels and dresses so short and tight as to be scandalous.  
  
Both women had flaming red hair, but the taller one wore  
hers in a bun while the shorter wore hers in a braided pigtail.  
Other than that, the two could be sisters. Their routine was so  
effortless and practiced that it was like a dance. Indeed, it was  
almost silent inside the dining room. The only music to provide  
accompaniment to the ladies' elegant routine was the click and tap  
of their heels against the hardwood floor.  
  
Eventually, one of the guests made the inevitable mistake.  
Someone did it at least once a night, the proprietor thought to  
himself. Tonight, it was a balding, chubby Japanese man in a  
dress-shirt and too-tight slacks. A tourist or a businessman, most  
likely, who had one more drink with dinner than he really should  
have.  
  
It was innocent, really, the restaurant owner thought.  
Every Japanese man he had met had been inclined to the same thing.  
Still, just as soon as the man's hand came out from under the  
shorter waitress's skirt, his eyes shone with the uncertainty of  
what he had just got himself into.  
  
The waitress screeched and grabbed her bottom where it had  
been so roughly squeezed. She allowed the tray of drinks she had  
been carrying to crash to the floor. Yu Sing didn't mind. The bulk  
of customers it drew more than made up for the expense of the  
floor show.  
  
"You!" the girl screeched in thickly-accented Japanese.  
"You have put hands upon my body!"  
  
Every eye on the house was fixed upon her.  
  
The other waitress sat her tray down on the nearest table  
and began to wail. "Oh, no!" she cried out, perhaps a little too  
dramatically. "My poor daughter!"  
  
"Mother," the younger, shorter waitress cried, running  
over and burying her face in the other's bosom. "I have been  
defiled! I am no longer pure!"  
  
Mother and daughter? It was possible, most of the patrons  
thought. The mother seemed awfully young. Still the resemblance  
they bore was close enough.  
  
"Who has done this to you, daughter?" The mother demanded.  
  
"That man!" the daughter shouted, pointing at the  
overweight businessman who had pinched her almost-exposed  
derriere. He was struggling to get out of his seat, waving his  
hands to try to distance himself from the incident. "That man is  
the one who stole my innocence!"  
  
"Then all is lost!" the mother wailed. She pulled the  
bundle from her back that had been otherwise unnoticeable or  
overlooked the rest of the evening. Once she pulled the silk scarf  
off of it, however, many customers gasped in shock or dread. Those  
who had seen this before sat back and watched eagerly as the woman  
drew her katana, knowing what was coming next.  
  
"I will not have a daughter who is soiled," the mother  
pronounced coldly, leveling the katana at the younger girl. "Your  
honor must be cleansed with blood. Either sacrifice your life to  
cleanse your honor, or bring me the head of he who has despoiled  
you!"  
  
"I will, Mother!" the daughter declared fiercely. She  
turned back to the casual molester, who was rapidly trying to  
retreat. "You! You must face me in combat so that I may regain my  
honor!" she announced, pointing directly at the man.  
  
He was beginning to look for an exit but two of the burly  
off-duty cooks had taken up positions by the front door to prevent  
him from leaving.  
  
The waitress strode agilely towards him and lifted the  
blubbering man by his collar. He hovered in the air, grasping her  
wrist, desperately trying to free himself.  
  
"Please! Please don't kill me!" He begged. "I'm sorry! I  
won't do it again, I promise."  
  
"Will the apologies of a craven coward cleanse my honor?"  
the waitress demanded impatiently.  
  
"Waaahhh!! I don't wanna die!"  
  
Angrily, the waitress threw him at the door. The cooks  
stepped aside, opening the door as they did so, providing a clean  
trajectory to the street outside. The man landed roughly on the  
sidewalk outside and rolled for several meters before staggering  
to his feet and running away in abject terror.  
  
The room began to fill with applause.  
  
The two waitresses had the grace not to bow. Instead, they  
resumed their normal work. Once the mess had been cleaned up, it  
was as if nothing had happened at all. Still, all eyes were fixed  
on the two, hoping that someone else would be stupid enough to try  
something inappropriate.  
  
It was the same routine ever night, with one or two  
variations. If someone made a pass at the mother, then the  
daughter would leap to her defense. If the daughter was accosted,  
then the mother would demand that she cleanse her honor by killing  
her assailant. Either way, Yu Sing lost one terrified customer and  
gained twenty more who came to see the beautiful, yet deadly  
waitresses.  
  
After the owner closed his restaurant, he went back into  
the kitchen, where the two waitresses were helping his two new  
dishwashers by drying and stacking freshly cleaned dishes.  
  
"Your performance tonight was wonderful as always,  
ladies," he said in near-flawless Japanese.  
  
"Wasn't nothin'" the youngest red-head replied, smiling.  
"I love showing guys like that who's boss."  
  
"I don't see why I can't wait tables," one of the  
dishwashers, a petite young Japanese girl with short, dark hair  
said.  
  
"That's 'cause you always mess up the food, Akane!" The  
waitress challenged.  
  
"He's right," the other dishwasher, a tall, bulky man with  
a bandanna over his bald head agreed before the girl could start  
shouting. "You do tend to mix up the orders."  
  
"Akane's getting better," the older woman said, defending  
the girl. "She even helped the cooks cut vegetables this evening.  
"She may be ready to wait tables in just a short time."  
  
"Actually, that's what I came to talk to you about," the  
restaurant owner said. "Saotome-san, when you all started here,  
you agreed to work until you had earned the amount you specified.  
As much as I want you to stay, I gather that this is travel money,  
correct?"  
  
The shorter waitress, Ranma, grabbed the envelope the man  
was holding out. "Whoohoo! It's done. No more waitressing!"  
  
"It was sooner than I thought," Genma announced.  
  
"It's just because Aunty Saotome wouldn't let you eat or  
gamble away all our earnings," Akane accused.  
  
"There's that, too."  
  
"Be nice," Nodoka chided the girl. "Still, it will be nice  
to get back home."  
  
"I'll take my leave of you, then," Yu Sing told them  
sadly. "It has been a most profitable time for me. Any time you're  
passing through again, please feel free to come work for a few  
weeks, months, or even years."  
  
With a sad chuckle, the man turned and left his now former  
employees to their own devices.  
  
"Not bad," Ranma said. "This will be more than enough to  
cover our room bill and plane tickets back home. Still, I don't  
understand why you didn't keep enough of what the scientists gave  
us to do that in the first place!" Ranma complained to her father.  
  
"That was my decision," Nodoka said. "I'm better at it  
than your father, but I probably still would have lost a  
significant amount of the money, so we decided to have Takamura-  
san deposit it directly into the Tendou's accounts."  
  
"Nabiki will have spent it all by the time we get home,"  
Akane noted sourly.  
  
"That wasn't very nice, Akane-chan," Nodoka scolded her.  
"Besides, I'm certain that Kasumi and your father will reign her  
in. I hope."  
  
"Speaking of which," Genma said, "Assuming that the money  
is indeed waiting for us when we get home, we need to dispose of  
it in a responsible manner."  
  
"No weekend drinking binges for you, at any rate," Ranma  
teased.  
  
"Rather. Actually, Nodoka and I have been talking, and  
we've been thinking about buying a new house when we return."  
  
"What? No way!"  
  
"We made a great deal of money, Ranma," Nodoka explained.  
"Takamura-san paid us very handsomely for our time after he and  
his partners located the gold deposit they were looking for. It's  
not quite enough to buy a house outright, but I believe that it  
will put us very close to that goal without very much financing at  
all. We might even be able to do it without a mortgage if we're  
very lucky."  
  
"All right. That's pretty cool!" Ranma exclaimed.  
  
"It also means that you have limited time to decide what  
you're going to do regarding certain other matters, Ranma," Genma  
said as he drained the dish-sink and dried his hands. "There's  
still the engagement between our family and the Tendous to  
consider... if you've changed your mind at all in the last couple  
months. If we did buy a house, would you want to come live with us  
until you graduate high-school, or would you want to continue to  
train at the Tendou's dojo?"  
  
Ranma was silent. She and Akane locked eyes nervously for  
a second, but said nothing.  
  
"I'll let you decide," Genma told his child. "It will  
still be a while before we're back home. Just keep in mind what's  
at stake either way."  
  
After the two adults had left the kitchen to make  
preparations for their trip, Ranma and Akane were left alone for a  
short time.  
  
"What do you think?" Ranma asked, a tone of dread in her  
voice.  
  
"I'm really happy for you!" Akane exclaimed. "A house...  
wow!"  
  
Ranma's shoulders slumped slightly. "I mean..."  
  
"I know," Akane said, her eyes a little wild. "Honestly, I  
don't know how I feel about the prospect." She reached out with  
one hand.  
  
Looking around to make sure her parents weren't watching,  
Ranma grabbed it with both of hers and gave a quick squeeze.  
  
"We'll just have to play it by ear," Ranma told her.  
  
Akane nodded.  
  
Then, careful to make sure that no one could see, the two  
shared a brief kiss, Ranma's high heels making up the slight  
difference in their heights.  
  
* * *  
  
The next day, Nodoka booked a flight for the four of them  
back to Japan on a JAL 747. They left in the early morning and  
arrived during late afternoon at Narita International Airport in  
Japan. All four were exhausted after the long flight, but happy to  
be home after such a long absence. Luckily, Ranma managed to stay  
male the entire trip, despite no fewer than three close calls when  
klutzy stewardesses tried to spill various drinks on him.  
  
It was as Ranma was coming out of the boarding ramp that  
he saw something that surprised him.  
  
It was Makuna-sensei and his lover, Ayanobu. They were  
waiting patiently in the boarding lounge, each carrying a large  
overnight bag.  
  
Ranma hesitated only for a second before jogging over to  
the pair. Smiling widely, he stepped in front of them and waved.  
"Hey! You're out of the hospital!"  
  
Indeed, Takedo Makuna was alive and apparently healthy,  
although he looked very weak, and even more scarecrow-like than  
before.  
  
Both of them eyed him nervously. Ayanobu in particular  
seemed to cringe away from him.  
  
"Excuse me," Makuna-sensei said. Much to Ranma's relief,  
the man's eyes did not linger on his body."You look familiar," the  
doctor continued, "but I don't beleive we've--"  
  
Ranma began to laugh. "Of course not. Here," he reached  
into his backpack an pulled out a bottle of drinking water he  
brought onto the plane with him. He opened the lid and poured it  
over his head.  
  
Both men's eyes widened as Ranma transformed in front of  
them, becoming the small red-headed girl they both knew.  
  
"Ranma!" Makuna-sensei laughed out loud. "It's you. The  
curse... It was real! Tofuu-sensei told me it was real, but... My  
goodness, what an incredible thing!"  
  
"Yeah," Ranma replied happily, not flinching when the  
psychologist grabbed her hands.  
  
"Oh, it's so good to see you!" he said emotionally. "I  
heard you went overseas for a job."  
  
"I just made it back," Ranma replied, thumbing over her  
shoulder at the boarding ramp. "Last time I saw you, you were on  
your back and hooked up to eight different kinds of machinery."  
  
Makuna nodded and tapped his chest where he had been shot.  
"I understand I have you to thank for saving my life."  
  
Ranma shrugged. "Anybody else would have done the same  
thing."  
  
"I also understand that you spent quite a bit of time  
helping Taiyoko Saiteiki after I was hospitalized. That was very  
brave of you. You've done quite a bit for her... maybe even more  
than I could. She's very happy now, and she and I probably owe a  
great deal of that to you."  
  
Ranma coughed a little uncomfortably. "So, you two are  
going on a trip?"  
  
Makuna nodded sadly. "I've lost one of my lungs," he said  
forlornly. "And I've had pneumonia a few times since I woke up. As  
much as I would like to start practicing again and helping people,  
I've simply got to take some time off to rest and build my  
strength back up."  
  
"We have a friend in Hawaii who is lending us a beach  
house for a few months," Ayanobu added, much happier since the  
Ranma he knew materialized in front of him.  
  
"We'll take a bit of a sabbatical," Makuna-sensei  
explained. "And then we'll come back and set my practice back up."  
  
"Well don't take too long," Ranma said teasingly. "You owe  
me about three or four months worth of head-shrinking sessions."  
  
Makuna smiled widely. "I'll call you just as soon as I  
return."  
  
They chatted briefly about Ranma's adventures in India,  
and then in China as they worked for travel money to fly back to  
Japan.  
  
Ranma waved his parents and Akane over and introduced  
Makuna-sensei and Ayanobu to them.  
  
Genma paled a little bit when he realized that the couple  
in front of him was openly gay, but there wasn't any  
unpleasantness.  
  
Afterwards, Ranma waved to the two as they boarded the  
plane that would take them away.  
  
The train ride back to Nerima district was fairly  
straightforward. Only a couple hours or so after they had arrived  
back in Japan, the group was walking down the street that would  
take them to the Tendou dojo.  
  
While Nodoka and Genma were busy chatting, Ranma smiled  
reassuringly at Akane, adjusting her pack to cover her quick  
indiscretion. The dark-haired girl seemed a little nervous, but  
calmed somewhat upon seeing Ranma's expression.  
  
Finally, they strode up the walk to the dojo. Genma rapped  
his fist sharply against the door several times.  
  
They were greeted at the door by a tall young woman with  
short brown hair. She was wearing a short, low-cut dress and sheer  
stockings.  
  
She looked familiar to Ranma, but for the life of her,  
Ranma simply couldn't place the girl.  
  
The young woman's eyes widened upon seeing Akane and the  
Saotomes.  
  
"Oh my," Genma noted in a whisper tone.  
  
"Akane!" she shouted.  
  
"Kasumi! What did you do to your hair?" Akane asked as she  
wrapped her arms around the older girl.  
  
Kasumi? Ranma shook her head. This couldn't be Kasumi. The  
Kasumi he knew had long hair and always wore long, conservative  
dresses. She certainly never wore anything that displayed that  
much thigh.  
  
"Do you like it? I cut it a few weeks ago. As a matter of  
fact, I was just about to go out."  
  
"Oh?" Nodoka asked curiously.  
  
"Yes, I was just about to leave for data with my  
BOYFRIEND." She turned and shouted the last word back into the  
house, as if in challenge.  
  
"Yes, yes," Nabiki's voice drifted back. "We all know  
you're going out, Kasumi. Have a wonderful time."  
  
"Oh, but I can't leave now," Kasumi said sadly. "You just  
got here and--"  
  
"Nonsense," Nodoka said, urging the girl into the heeled  
shoes she had left next to the door. "We'll be here when you get  
back. You shouldn't break a date. Is he handsome?"  
  
"Oh yes," Kasumi said dreamily.  
  
Ranma rubbed her chin in thought. She supposed that being  
in a relationship might make someone want to change their  
appearance, but to do so in such radical fashion was a little  
extreme.  
  
After warmly embracing both Akane and Nodoka again, Kasumi  
pecked both Genma and Ranma on the cheek and ran off.  
  
"That was surprising," Genma noted quietly.  
  
"I'll say," Akane agreed.  
  
Inside the main room, Soun and Nabiki were waiting.  
Taiyoko was sitting timidly behind the table.  
  
"Saotome!" Soun shouted. "I thought I heard my old friend!  
How was the trip? And more importantly," he continued, eyeing  
Ranma and Akane curiously, "how did our p--"  
  
"Just a second, Daddy," Nabiki interrupted, roughly  
shoving her father aside. She poked her finger into Genma's chest  
accusingly. "You are in deep trouble, mister. Do you have any idea  
how upset I was when twenty million yen just magically appeared in  
*my* bank account?"  
  
"Uhhm... I thought..."  
  
"What if we got audited?!" Nabiki shouted. "Do you have  
any idea how difficult it would be to explain away that much  
money? Have you even paid taxes on it yet?"  
  
"Nabiki, I'm afraid that was my fault," Nodoka said,  
trying to get her husband out of trouble.  
  
"Fine. I can see the both of you need a quick dose of  
basic finance."  
  
"Nabiki," Soun said, trying to interrupt. "I need to talk  
with Saotome for just a--"  
  
"It can wait, Daddy. Now the both of you need to know  
exactly when and where to deposit massive sums of money like  
this..."  
  
Ranma tuned Nabiki's financial lecture out, and instead  
turned to Taiyoko, who was nervously approaching Akane.  
  
"T-tendou-san," the girl stammered. "I'd like t-to  
apologize for--"  
  
Akane shook her head and cut the girl off. "No, I'm the  
one that needs to apologize. I treated you in a very poor manner  
because of something that was wrong with me. I'm sorry."  
  
Taiyoko froze, surprised at Akane's behavior.  
  
"This is where you say it's okay," Ranma prompted her.  
"'Cause I want the two of you to get along and not rip each  
other's eyes out."  
  
"Yes!" Taiyoko agreed. "It is okay. I accept your  
apology," she said sincerely, bowing a little as she did so. "You  
two have made up?" she guessed.  
  
"We're not slapping each other around any more," Ranma  
said evasively.  
  
"Oh, that's good," Taiyoko said, a little disappointed  
that there didn't seem to be any more going on between them.  
  
Akane coughed uncomfortably, unable to meet the girl's  
eyes after Ranma's statement.  
  
Taiyoko began to stare suspiciously at the two.  
  
Ranma sighed and rolled her eyes. As bad as she was at  
keeping secrets, Akane was worse.  
  
Seeing that Nabiki was raising her voice at the Saotomes,  
Taiyoko shifted her stare and began to glare at Nabiki.  
  
"That's not very nice, Nabiki!" she said in a sharp tone.  
  
Nabiki halted in mid-tirade and nodded. Her shoulders  
drooped slightly.  
  
"You're right," she admitted, glancing submissively back  
at the blonde girl. "Anyway, back before I got mad, I was going to  
say that I took the liberty of investing a lot of what you  
deposited in low-risk, medium-yield bonds."  
  
"We can count on you to help us keep track of it all,  
can't we?" Nodoka suggested. "For a small fee?"  
  
Nabiki's eyes lit up at the prospect.  
  
"I didn't see that one coming," Ranma whispered to Akane.  
  
Akane, too, was surprised at her sister's behavioral  
change and apparent submissiveness to the other girl.  
  
"Is Kasumi going out with Tofuu-sensei?" she asked Nabiki  
before she could change the subject again.  
  
"I don't know," Nabiki said, caught off guard. "We have  
yet to meet this 'boyfriend' of hers. For all I know she's going  
to the library and sitting by herself all evening every evening."  
  
"It's probably Tofuu-sensei," Taiyoko added. "She seems  
very concerned about his age."  
  
Nabiki nodded. "She's probably a little shy about letting  
our poor father know that his teenaged daughter is being kept out  
late at night by a man in his thirties."  
  
"I wouldn't mind at all," Soun said from across the room,  
where he had finally gotten Nodoka and Genma away from the others.  
"Tofuu is a good boy. She could certainly have picked a more  
difficult romantic attachment."  
  
Nabiki shrugged. "I think she's just trying to show  
Taiyoko and me how 'evil' we're being."  
  
"She is very excited about her new relationship," Taiyoko  
said, scolding Nabiki again.  
  
"She's reveling in it," Nabiki added. "You saw how she was  
dressed. Daddy cried for two days last month when she cut her  
hair."  
  
"She's going out most evenings?" Ranma verified curiously,  
her stomach grumbling a little bit. "Who's cooking dinner?"  
  
"Ah, yes," Nabiki replied, grinning. "You missed the  
fights."  
  
"Fights?"  
  
Taiyoko blushed, and couldn't quite meet anyone's eyes.  
  
"She still cooks," Nabiki explained, "but we just have  
dinner earlier... except when Taiyoko beats her to it. They've  
been fighting over the kitchen since you all left."  
  
"We're not fighting," Taiyoko stated weakly.  
  
"You're only person who has *ever* moved Kasumi to  
profanity, my dear," Nabiki said. "That's fighting."  
  
Ranma shook her head and did her best to try to keep from  
laughing.  
  
Akane was staring in disbelief. "Kasumi swore at you?" she  
asked in awe. "I've trashed the kitchen before, and she never  
swore at me."  
  
"Well, it's not that I tried to make her angry..."  
  
Ranma listened to Taiyoko try to defend herself, amazed  
that he had found someone... anyone whom Kasumi didn't get along  
with. Still, they were both human.  
  
It was as Akane and Taiyoko were comparing horror stories  
that Nabiki put her hand on Ranma's shoulder. Once she caught the  
red-head's attention, she gestured for Ranma to step into the  
hallway.  
  
"Hey," Ranma greeted her nervously.  
  
Nabiki frowned, made several false starts at trying to  
speak, and eventually said, "I'm sorry, Ranma."  
  
Ranma stared emotionlessly at the girl.  
  
"I just wanted you to know that," Nabiki said. "It's hard  
for me to say, so don't expect to hear it again."  
  
"Well, I'm sorry that I... I dunno... misunderstood what  
you wanted."  
  
"I'll admit that I took advantage of that pretty badly,"  
Nabiki said flatly. "I thought... well, you already know what I  
thought. Forgive me."  
  
"I'm sorry too," Ranma told her in reply. "And I'm sorry  
that I wasn't what you wanted. For a little while there, I thought  
that... well..." the redhead shrugged. "Shampoo told me something  
a while back that I think applies here. 'It could have been  
wonderful'."  
  
Nabiki nodded and closed her eyes. Ranma was surprised to  
see a little moisture start to gather in the corner of her eyes.  
  
"Are you happy with her?" Ranma asked.  
  
"Yes. It's not like I thought it would be," the taller  
girl admitted candidly, "but I think we are happy. I think that  
both of us have grown up a lot since you left. Father has helped  
us and, despite the fact that she's still upset about it, so has  
Kasumi."  
  
"I'm glad."  
  
"And how are you doing?" Nabiki demanded of Ranma, trying  
to change the subject.  
  
The girl shrugged. "Like I said, Akane and I aren't  
slapping each other around any more."  
  
Nabiki stared down her nose at Ranma.  
  
"We may not be honest with everyone else right now," Ranma  
clarified, "but we're being honest with each other. I'll let you  
know what happens, okay?"  
  
Nabiki exhaled heavily. "That's enough, I suppose. Don't  
hurt her, Ranma. Promise me."  
  
"I can't promise you that," Ranma told her.  
  
"Ranma..."  
  
"But I can try. Okay?"  
  
Nabiki bit her lip at Ranma's smile, but nodded in  
acceptance.  
  
* * *  
  
After Ranma managed to get away from the Tendous, she  
began to take a long walk around the neighborhood. She stopped by  
public restroom to get some warm water, and then took off in the  
direction of Furinkan high.  
  
Most of the people had already left for the afternoon, but  
there were still a few club members around. The soccer team was  
practicing on one of the playing fields and the chemistry club was  
busy waving smoke out of one of the third-floor windows. Other  
than that, nothing was really going on.  
  
It was as he was making his way to the shopping district  
near the high school when he was roughly grabbed from behind.  
  
"Ranma!" Ryouga yelled. "You have to hide me!"  
  
"Whoa, P-chan," Ranma tried to disengage himself from the  
muscular martial artist. "What's wrong?"  
  
"They've teamed up on me!" Ryouga said, tears running down  
his face. "I thought I could trust her but... It's too horrible to  
even talk about!"  
  
"Calm down! Now, slowly, tell me what's wrong."  
  
"It's Yoiko," Ryouga blurted out. "She's decided that--"  
  
"Charlotte!" a high-pitched voice called out, audible over  
everything else Ranma could hear.  
  
"Oh no. They've found me," the lost boy murmured, his eyes  
growing wide in horror. For the first time, Ranma realized that  
his rival was wearing a rhinestone-studded collar that was  
fastened around his neck with a tiny pink heart.  
  
"She didn't..." Ranma grumbled.  
  
"Come back to Mommy, Charlotte! I'll take care of you."  
  
Ryouga's nerve broke. He simply turned and ran away.  
  
A few seconds later, Azusa Shiratore and Yoiko Hibiki,  
Ryouga's little sister, appeared from around a corner, both on  
roller skates.  
  
"This way, Amanda!" Yoiko prompted as they both whizzed by  
Ranma without recognizing or even noticing him. "You'll catch my  
Oniichan yet!"  
  
"Thank you so much, Marienne!" Azusa squealed. "Come back,  
Charlotte! Come back! We haven't had our happily ever after yet!"  
  
Ranma shook his head sadly.  
  
"Sorry, Ryouga. There ain't nothin' I can do for you," he  
said to no one in particular. The pigtailed martial artist walked  
away, shaking his head sadly.  
  
A few minutes later, he was in front of Ucchan's  
Okonomiyaki.  
  
Ranma took a deep breath. He had been dreading this for  
weeks.  
  
Even though the door wasn't open and the shop curtain  
wasn't out, which surprised him a little, Ranma pulled the door  
open and stepped inside.  
  
All the tables and chairs were gone.  
  
Ranma clenched his eyes. Was he too late?  
  
"Hello?" Ukyou's voice called down the stairs. "I'm sorry,  
but we're closed," she announced.  
  
"Ucchan," Ranma called out. "It's me."  
  
There was complete and utter silence inside the vacant  
restaurant. After a few minutes, Ukyou appeared at the bottom of  
the stairway. She was wearing a sweater and jeans despite the fact  
that Ranma expected to see her in her usual costume.  
  
Her eyes were wide, but she didn't say anything.  
  
"Are you moving?" Ranma queried, trying to break the  
silence between them.  
  
"Uhh... yeah. For a little while anyways," the chef  
responded.  
  
Despite the exchange, several more quiet seconds passed  
between the two. The expression on Ukyou's face shifted rapidly  
between anger, sadness, and even hope.  
  
"You're back," she noted quietly.  
  
"Just got back today."  
  
"Did you have a good time on your job?" she queried.  
  
Ranma shrugged. "It wasn't bad. It was hot and sticky out  
in the jungle. Then I had to wait tables for a few weeks in China  
to get travel money to come back."  
  
"So... I guess I should ask you why you're even here,"  
Ukyou said a little more forcefully. "After all, it's not hard to  
guess where Akane's been this whole time."  
  
Ranma really didn't have an answer for that.  
  
"I've only had a few months to think about it," Ukyou  
continued. "God, Ranma," she growled, rubbing her forehead. "Why  
did you do that to me? You put me through so much and then you  
took off like a bat out of hell. When Akane turned up missing the  
next day at school, I didn't even have to wonder what happened."  
  
Ranma didn't have to ask what 'that' was.  
  
"I was feeling very upset when I came in that day," he  
explained quietly. "I've been having some problems. I think I was  
trying to get you to show me everything was okay when it really  
wasn't."  
  
"So could Akane kiss you when you were a girl?" Ukyou  
demanded accusingly.  
  
Ranma couldn't quite meet he eyes.  
  
"God-dammit," Ukyou hissed, turning away from the martial  
artist.  
  
"Ukyou, I came to apologize," Ranma said in a clear,  
honest tone of voice.  
  
"Apologize for what? Building me up and then knocking me  
down so hard that it almost killed me?" she shouted angrily. Tears  
began to flow more freely down her cheeks.  
  
"Yeah." Ranma swallowed hard. "Also for letting you  
believe something that wasn't true." Ranma took a deep breath. "I  
didn't know it when I came in here, but I think I was only running  
on hormones that day. I've been changing... a lot. It was because  
of the surgery."  
  
Ukyou shook her head, staring at the floor.  
  
"At first I didn't say anything because I didn't know  
how," Ranma continued. "Then, when I did start to figure out how,  
I didn't want to. I don't know if I was being more selfish or  
immature."  
  
"So, that's it, huh? 'Sorry, Ucchan, but you lost out,'"  
the chef bit off. "And how the hell am I supposed to answer that?  
Sorry, but I couldn't be a lesbian for you?"  
  
Ranma stood still, soaking up the words coming from the  
girl who's heart he had just broken.  
  
"Was it really that important to you?" she asked.  
  
Ranma exhaled heavily. "That's the thing. I still don't  
know."  
  
"And I suppose Akane's happy with that. It's no big secret  
around school any more about her sister. I suppose Akane is the  
same way."  
  
Ranma shrugged. "I can't talk for Akane, Ukyou. I can just  
talk for me. All I can say is that I'm sorry."  
  
"Tell me one thing, Ranma," the girl demanded, wiping the  
tears from her cheeks. "Did you ever feel the same way about me as  
I felt about you?"  
  
"No," Ranma said. "And I didn't tell you because I wanted  
you to keep being there for me. I'm sorry."  
  
Ukyou deflated. She sat on the bottom step and started to  
bawl into her hands.  
  
She didn't protest when Ranma sat down next to her. She  
punched in angrily in the arm several times, but didn't actually  
demand he leave.  
  
After the storm of tears had passed, Ukyou sat calmly next  
to boy she once thought loved her. Staring blearily at the empty  
floor, she began to speak again.  
  
"Like I said, I've had a few months to deal with it," she  
said quietly. "I just needed to hear it from your mouth. God,  
you're an immature jerk."  
  
Ranma was silent. He didn't think another 'I'm sorry'  
would significantly help matters.  
  
"So you and Akane are going out now, huh?"  
  
Ranma shook his head. "We're... trying to figure things  
out. Things are very complex, and I don't think she's very sure of  
anything. I'm not either, really."  
  
"So how far have you been with her," Ukyou demanded.  
  
"Uh..."  
  
"You have to tell me, Ranma," she said. "I need to know."  
  
"We... uhmmm..."  
  
"I think you as much as admitted you kissed her. How much  
further did it go than that? How far? 'B' or 'C'?"  
  
"Uhmm... 'C'," Ranma admitted.  
  
Ukyou's shoulders slumped even further. "I thought it  
might end up this way," she said calmly after a few more seconds.  
"Even before you had that surgery and started acting different. I  
just wish that..." she trailed off, apparently unable to continue.  
  
"I don't want you to hate me," Ranma urged her. "I still  
want to be your friend. I understand if you don't want that."  
  
"I spent ten years hating you, Ranma," Ukyou said quietly.  
"Even if I wanted to, I don't think I could start again. I'm  
angry... mad as hell really. I think I'm going to kick both your  
and Akane's asses the next time I see the two of you. No, I don't  
hate you. I don't think I'm ready to be friends just yet."  
  
"I understand," Ranma said, noting the empty room around  
him. Ukyou's plans were fairly clear.  
  
Ukyou nodded. "I've known it was coming, so I was planning  
to get away. The movers came yesterday, and I was finishing  
packing up everything else upstairs. I almost thought I was going  
to leave without seeing you."  
  
"Where were you headed?" Ranma asked, more to try to keep  
the silence away than anything else.  
  
"My Mom-- don't think you ever met her-- she left my dad  
before I ever met you. Hated okonomiyaki."  
  
"That's rough." Ranma suppressed the urge to laugh in such  
a serious situation.  
  
"Anyway, she's remarried and living in Hiroshima," Ukyou  
detailed. "She offered to help me come and set up shop there so  
long as I didn't make her eat any of my cooking."  
  
"So you're leaving pretty soon?"  
  
"Tonight. She's coming to pick me up. I get to meet my  
'step-father' for the first time, too. Joy."  
  
Ranma rolled his eyes. "At least you know where your Mom  
was when you were growing up. I thought that mine might have been  
dead."  
  
"That's true."  
  
"So, maybe later on, we can be friends again?"  
  
"I don't know, Ranma," Ukyou said seriously. "Maybe. Stop  
by my new shop some time, and we'll see."  
  
Ranma sighed and nodded.  
  
"Be sure to bring Akane, so I can slap her around some,"  
Ukyou chuckled. "Now get out of here before I start crying again.  
It hurts too much to see you right now."  
  
Ranma closed his eyes, letting the pain wash over him.  
Doing his best to comply with Ukyou's wishes, he stood, touched  
her shoulder lightly with one hand, and left.  
  
Tatewaki Kunou happened to be waiting outside in his  
familiar hakama, leaning against a telephone pole.  
  
"True love is fragile," he said quietly. "Once lost, 'tis  
never regained. Love's reward is grief."  
  
Ranma paused, a little stunned.  
  
"Yo, Kunou-sempai."  
  
"Good day to you, Saotome," the kendoist replied, smiling  
softly. "Forgive me if I assume too much, but I gather you did not  
enter yon restaurant to express your undying affection for its  
proprietor."  
  
"No. You got that right," Ranma said in a depressed tone.  
"But, I had to do it. I don't think there was any other way."  
  
"There is one other you must talk to, then, either to lift  
her heart or to break it."  
  
"I know," Ranma agreed. "I was kinda planning on heading  
over to your place and seeing if Kodachi was there. I want to get  
this over with."  
  
"I see," Kunou said, his smile fading somewhat. "Well, let  
us walk to my family's humble estate, and I will do my best to  
deflect the debris when my sister expresses her displeasure with  
you."  
  
Ranma nodded and followed silently behind the kendoist.  
They arrived at the mansion all too quickly... too quickly for  
Ranma to try to decide how he was going to handle the situation.  
Kunou led Ranma through the house, past the room where Ranma and  
Kodachi had nearly surrendered to each other, to the far end of  
the elegant hallway.  
  
"She has been expecting you," Kunou whispered, gesturing  
to the intricately scrolled double-door of Kodachi's bedroom.  
"Please, be honest with my sister. I love her and I would spare  
her as much pain as possible, even if it means hurting her now."  
  
Ranma nodded.  
  
"I'll wait out here," Kunou said. "And I have several  
common antidotes ready nearby should you need them afterwards."  
  
"You're really boosting my confidence here."  
  
"I know my sister," Kunou deadpanned. "Good luck to you,  
Ranma. You're going to need it."  
  
Ranma took a deep breath and knocked on the door in front  
of him.  
  
"Come in," Kodachi's voice called out from inside.  
  
Ranma turned the knob and stepped inside.  
  
Kodachi had prepared herself for him. Her hair was  
elegantly curled and her face had been lightly made up. She was  
wearing something pretty similar to what she had been the last  
time Ranma had seen her, if a little less revealing. It was a  
black silk corset, garter, and panty set, each embroidered with  
tiny roses. It displayed Kodachi's attributes without baring them.  
Over that, the gymnast wore a filmy, diaphanous robe that  
descended about as far as the tops of her stockings.  
  
Her expression was full of hope, love, and desire, if more  
than a little bit of nervousness. She stared into Ranma's face  
honestly and openly.  
  
In one hand, she held a full glass of water.  
  
Everything Kodachi wanted and everything she was prepared  
to offer in return was quite clear to Ranma, even though the girl  
had said nothing. Every thought she had and everything she had  
gone through was apparent.  
  
For a second, Ranma remembered the night they had come so  
close to becoming lovers. If not for an accident of fate, they  
would have. All else would be moot by now. For a moment, Ranma was  
willing to forget everything else that had happened and fall  
against the gymnast's lean, beautiful body.  
  
Then Ranma remembered what he had shared with Akane, even  
though neither of them were sure they wanted it or knew what to do  
afterwards.  
  
He bowed his head to the floor.  
  
Several seconds passed before the glass hit the floor in  
front of him, shattering. Most of the glass spread across the  
floor, but a few pieces stuck in the legs of Ranma's canvas pants.  
Enough of the water splashed up to change Ranma.  
  
It was only a few moments later before she heard Kodachi's  
light foot-steps approach her or felt her chin roughly grabbed and  
her face lifted back up so that the gymnast could stare into her  
eyes. She thought at first that Kodachi was going to try to force  
Ranma to kiss her, but was a little surprised to see the girl's  
face burning with anger and loss.  
  
"I swear to you," Kodachi hissed, "that this is not over!  
I will have you, regardless of what you or anyone else thinks."  
  
"Kodachi--"  
  
"Be still, Ranma-sama."  
  
"Kodachi, I'm sorry."  
  
"Don't say that!" The girl shouted angrily. "I don't want  
to hear that! You're the man I've given my heart to, and if you  
won't accept it--"  
  
Ranma shushed Kodachi by putting her fingers to the  
gymnast's angry lips.  
  
"Kodachi, I'm sorry. I made a mistake. I never should have  
done what I did."  
  
"That's not good enough, Ranma," Kodachi declared. She  
turned away from the redheaded girl and clenched her fists at her  
side. "If you cannot be made to see how true my love is, then I  
will show you."  
  
"Kodachi, please don't do this."  
  
"That's enough, Ranma," Kodachi said in an eerily cold  
tone. "I'm afraid I've become quite vexed. Please leave until I  
have devised a new method to win your love back."  
  
Ranma sighed deeply. She was afraid that this might be the  
case.  
  
"I'm sorry, Kodachi," she said before turning and leaving.  
  
Kunou was waiting several yards down the hallway.  
  
He grimaced at Ranma and pulled a fragment of glass she  
hadn't noticed out of her hair.  
  
"I warned you," he said.  
  
"Problem is, I don't think her heart is all that broken,"  
Ranma grumbled in exasperation. "She swore that she'd win me  
back."  
  
"I gathered as much. It will be difficult for you, I'm  
afraid. It would probably not be a good idea for you to come back  
until she's accepted your rejection one way or another."  
  
It was sound advice, but it still felt like a slap in the  
face. Ranma nodded sadly.  
  
"However, if you are still willing," Kunou suggested. "I  
have been in advance training these last few weeks and I long to  
test my skill against a worthy opponent. Perhaps we should meet in  
the kendo club room after school one day to duel. We might even  
avail ourselves of the Tendou's dojo if you're of a mind."  
  
"Yeah," Ranma said, feeling a lot better. "That sounds  
like a good idea."  
  
After Kunou had escorted Ranma from his house, Ranma  
started walking slowly back in the direction of Furinkan high.  
  
She didn't really intend for it to happen all at once like  
it just had, but there really wasn't any other way it could have  
happened. She felt a lot worse after what had passed between her  
and both Ukyou and Kodachi. Strangely, she also felt a lot better.  
  
She had only gone a few blocks when a familiar figure was  
waiting for her.  
  
"Hi," Akane said quietly.  
  
"Hey, Akane," Ranma said, jogging to a halt in front of  
her.  
  
Akane coughed nervously. "I just saw the strangest thing."  
  
"Let me guess. Ryouga being chased by Yoiko and Azusa."  
  
"Yes. You saw too," she guessed.  
  
Ranma nodded.  
  
"I tried to help him, but he ran away as soon as they  
caught up with us."  
  
Ranma shook her head. She chuckled despite herself. "Poor  
bacon-butt."  
  
"I still don't understand why she calls him 'Charlotte',"  
Akane wondered out loud.  
  
"Let it go, Akane," Ranma urged her. "Just let it go. With  
those two, it's not even worth worrying about."  
  
"I guess you're right. Anyway..."  
  
Here it comes, Ranma thought.  
  
"Our parents want to talk to you."  
  
"Lovely. What did you tell them."  
  
Akane looked evasively away from the redhead. "I told them  
we talked..."  
  
"That's all?"  
  
"Mmmm..."  
  
"And what else did you tell them?"  
  
"Nothing!" Akane assured him. "Still, I think they want an  
answer out of you. My dad started going on about who would inherit  
the dojo right after you left. I think your parents think we're  
still mad at each other, but my dad is convinced that we can pick  
up right where we left off."  
  
Ranma shook his head. "He's just pushing you, you realize.  
It's not like he's gonna kick the bucket any time soon."  
  
"I know," Akane admitted. "Still, what do you want to tell  
them?"  
  
Ranma grinned and placed a mischievous kiss on Akane's  
lips.  
  
"Hey, we're in public!" Akane hissed. "And we're both  
girls. Anyone could have seen that."  
  
"But no one did," Ranma told her, looking around only  
after she had said it.  
  
"Be serious for just a second, Ranma."  
  
"I'm tired of being serious, Akane. I've been serious  
about trying to figure everything out for too long now. I want to  
relax a little bit."  
  
"Ranma..."  
  
"We'll tell them this... We ain't decided what we want to  
do yet. Tell 'em to give the dojo to Tofuu if he really wants to.  
I'll bet you anything your dad'll wait until we're ready if we  
both push back hard enough. We'll win this yet!"  
  
Akane blushed a little bit. "Say that again."  
  
"What?"  
  
"What you just said. I want to hear it again," Akane  
pleaded.  
  
"Give the dojo to Tofuu?" Ranma hazarded.  
  
"No, the next part."  
  
"We'll win this yet?"  
  
"That's it." Akane sighed. She glanced around to make sure  
that no one was looking, and pecked Ranma on the cheek. "I think I  
like it when you say 'we' like that."  
  
"I like the 'win' part myself," Ranma said roguishly.  
  
"Isn't there anything else you like better than winning?"  
  
"No," Ranma declared firmly.  
  
"Oh?" Akane asked impishly. "We're back in Japan now.  
There are certain... precautions... we could take if you'd like to  
experiment with one thing you might like better than winning."  
  
"We could've taken those 'precautions' in Hong Kong,"  
Ranma countered. "But... maybe you're right. I just might like  
*that* better than winning. We'll have to try it again and find  
out."  
  
"Are you sure about that?" Akane asked in a whisper tone,  
blushing like a beet.  
  
The only response Ranma gave her was a wicked smile.  
  
----------  
  
THE END 


	21. newRanma Omake and Author's Notes

Author's Notes and Omake  
  
(Note: When I originally posted this to the FFML, I started a  
flame war. I won't change the things I wrote here, but there is a  
clarification at the end that may soothe hurt feelings.)  
  
20 chapters. 810 kb. 140,000 words. I have it on good authority  
that new authors who publish novels are usually never allowed to  
exceed 100,000 words. For comparison's sake, (size alone, I'm not  
trying to compare quality by any means) Neil Stephenson's 'Snow  
Crash' is about 910 k long and weighs in at a little over 160,000  
words.  
  
newRanma was never supposed to be longer than 3 chapters, let  
alone novel-length. Of course the first 'chapter' I had planned  
started with Ranma's injury and surgery and ended with the 'Nurse  
Academy' dream sequence.  
  
Well, first I'd like to thank everyone who read newRanma, and  
everyone who emailed me comments. I'd like to thank everybody on  
the FFIRC who encouraged me to post it.  
  
I'd also like to apologize to everyone, friends and new readers  
alike, who asked to preread or edit. For reasons I'll explain in a  
bit, I told them 'no'.  
  
  
------------------------------  
Omake 1  
------------------------------  
  
It certainly wasn't Kunou's first kiss, but as the  
trembling pigtailed-girl pressed her lips to his cheek, he found  
it was the one he treasured most.  
  
"Oh, pigtailed-girl," Kunou whispered as high-powered  
martial arts played out on the screen in front of the pair.  
  
"Kunou-sempai," she said, tightening her embrace. Man,  
faking this concussion was the best idea I've had in weeks, Ranma  
thought to herself. This way I get to be with Kunou-sempai all I  
want, and I can pass it off later as a hallucination!  
  
Kunou wondered if he was shaking as badly as the pigtailed  
girl as he gently wrapped his arm around her shoulders.  
  
He turned, moving his face closer to hers. Her vacant  
smile gave him no reason for concern, so he leaned in and pushed  
his lips to hers.  
  
She clumsily returned the kiss with trembling lips.  
  
Yes! He kissed me! Ranma had a hard time keeping from  
crowing out in victory.  
  
With his arms around her back, Kunou leaned her back and  
began to let his lips roam up and down her neck. He took her  
increased shaking as a sign of her arousal.  
  
"Kunou-sempai," she whispered, struggling to move out from  
under him. Anxiously, he stood, acutely aware of his own desire  
for her.  
  
Weakly, the girl stood. She moaned in desire.  
  
"Pigtailed-girl," Kunou said, wondering if something  
wrong. "Are you okay?"  
  
She cried out in lust and fell against him. Kunou blinked  
in surprise.  
  
"Pigtailed-girl?"  
  
Take me, Kunou-sempai, Ranma thought. She just couldn't  
say it out loud, but the feelings were there nonetheless. Take me  
now.  
  
Her blouse was only about half-way buttoned, revealing a  
generous amount of cleavage above the top of her school dress.  
Likewise, her short skirt had flared out as she fell and settled  
up around her waist, displaying her white cotton panties for him  
to gaze upon in wonder.  
  
Her body was so close to him! She was flaunting herself so  
daringly. He kneeled in front of her, his hand reaching out almost  
of its own accord to gently brush her exposed thigh.  
  
"Oh here," she snapped out in irritation when Kunou didn't  
touch her. She hooked her thumbs in the waistband of her panties  
and dragged them down over her hips. "You get the idea, right?"  
  
Kunou's bokken was held high.  
  
"Oh, pigtailed-girl," the kendoist cried, tears of joy  
running down his face. "I'm so happy!"  
  
------------------------------  
  
  
Where did newRanma come from, you ask?  
  
newRanma, like my Pink Lemonade stories, is pure, unadulterated  
fanservice. A lot of people have written me and told me that they  
thought I was trying to write 'realism'. I can see that,  
especially since some chapters of newRanma were so dark. I never  
intended newRanma to be that realistic. I started out playing  
pretty fast and loose with neurosurgery and ended the story  
playing fast and loose with the results of the changes the surgery  
induced in Ranma's love life.  
  
Consider in the nature of fan art. That's what I was trying to do.  
I started with a series of images... girl-Ranma in a Furinkan High  
uniform making out with Kunou, Akane holding the vial with a  
'piece of Ranma's mind' in it, Nabiki, Ranma, and Kunou proudly  
leading the students of Furinkan High on a walkout, Ranma in the  
'Nurse Academy' uniform, Ryouga, stabbed and bleeding to death,  
but about to kill Mousse with a stone in his hand, etc... etc...  
etc...  
  
I wanted to work these all into a story with a great deal of humor  
and sex, and newRanma was what came out of it. What realism there  
was just... happened.  
  
  
------------------------------  
Omake 2  
------------------------------  
  
"RYOUGA!!" Ranma screamed, bolting upright on the cot  
where she had been sleeping.  
  
Akane jerked awake. She had dozed off next to the martial  
artist.  
  
Nodoka was already leaning over her child, who was visibly  
shaking. "Ranma, are you okay? Ranma-chan?"  
  
"Oh god," Ranma whimpered, coming awake. "Oh god. Ryouga's  
dead. And... And..." The memories of what she had just dreamt  
assailed her.  
  
"No, Ranma. He's alive," Akane assured her. "The ravener  
queen hurt him, but didn't kill him."  
  
"What?"  
  
Ranma looked up in horror. Akane had long, powerful wings  
growing out of her back. A chance glimpse back at her mother  
revealed that the woman's fangs were protruding slightly.  
  
"Ranma," the nameless girl whispered. "It's time to fight.  
The evil is still waiting."  
  
"Ah, dammit!"  
  
------------------------------  
  
  
Why newRanma instead of new chapters of 'The Clan'?  
  
That's a little tricky to explain, but I'll start by saying  
this... The Clan was getting painful to write.  
  
I started The Clan as a big fan of vampire stuff. The idea behind  
the story was to make Nodoka and the Tendou girls into vampires  
and relate how they dealt with the world and Ranma. Akane was  
really supposed to be the main character, but after a certain  
story change (the introduction of the raveners as bad guys), it  
switched back to Ranma. I was having a great deal of fun with it  
right at first, but after a little bit, I had a pre-reader list a  
mile long, tons of suggested editing changes for each chapter, and  
a lot of really negative commentary. I had a handful of prereaders  
and readers who were really interested in helping me make The Clan  
be the story I wanted it to be. Each of you knows who you are.  
Most of the rest of the commentary I got was in the nature of  
trying to convince me to change the story... or telling me that I  
was ruining the story... or complaining one way or the other that  
the story wasn't going the way a certain reader wanted it to go.  
  
I should have just ignored those comments and done what I wanted  
to with the story. Instead, I made the mistake of thinking that  
all of my readers were rational, mature people who cared about  
reading what I wrote. After all, I'm writing for fun and not for  
profit. The story should be by me for me, right?  
  
After a while, I lost track of that. I started making suggested  
changes that I shouldn't have. I lost a lot of what I originally  
wanted the story to be. The delay between the chapters kept  
getting longer and longer, and I had less and less enthusiasm for  
putting them out.  
  
The Clan, holding at Chapter 24, is scripted all the way through  
to the next-to-last chapter, Chapter 27. I just got sick and tired  
of writing on a story I wasn't having fun with any more. Instead,  
I started putting more and more time into other, simpler and  
sillier projects... Like the Pink Lemonade stories.  
  
People bitched at me for those because I spent all my time having  
Ranma and Akane humping like weasels and played Shampoo and Ukyou  
for as much humor as I could. Still, they were fun to write for me  
when the only thing at all I was getting out of The Clan was angry  
grumblings.  
  
While trying to get some inspiration to flesh out the rest of 'The  
Clan', I happened to show the original draft of newRanma (which  
you can read if you like. It's on the newRanma page on my web  
site) to a few people on FFIRC. Dave Roeder was one. I think  
Vincent Seifert saw it as well. At any rate, everyone I showed it  
to encouraged me to flesh it out and post it.  
  
I did so, converting the single chapter I had into five smaller  
chapters. Before posting, however, I made an important decision--  
one that has served me ever since. I refused any kind of pre-  
reader input on newRanma, and have discarded any kind of plot  
advice submitted after I posted a chapter.  
  
It was a painful choice to make and I feel like it's alienated  
some people over the last year that I used to be a lot closer to.  
It means that the quality of the chapters was not quite as high in  
terms of grammar and spelling. My process went like so: I scripted  
a chapter, fleshed it in with dialogue and descriptive prose,  
proofed it for errors, and then spell checked. Once done, that was  
it. The story was in the can.  
  
What this did for me was keep newRanma *fun* to write. Unlike The  
Clan, I never had to struggle to write a chapter of newRanma.  
There were months at a time that I was too tired from work or too  
sick to write, but even when things got really bad, I still  
*wanted* to write. On September 11th of last year when the world  
seemed like it was going to end, I wrote a couple chapters of  
newRanma in just a few days to keep the grief and sorrow at bay.  
When two of my wife's relatives and my aunt died in the space of  
just a few weeks in the last couple months, I continued through  
with chapters 18, 19 and 20, albeit at a snail's pace, because  
they were a welcome relief from all the stress.  
  
Now that it's done, I find myself asking... what am I going to do  
for fun now?  
  
The Clan has not been abandoned. I've invested way too much  
emotional energy, time, sweat and tears into the story to let it  
die. After a year of inactivity, I don't think that I can go back  
and pick up right where I left off. I'm going to have to tear it  
down and rewrite it from the ground up. Some chapters, especially  
towards the beginning, won't see many changes. A lot of what was  
near the end will be completely discarded.  
  
When I do make those changes, I will be using the same publishing  
model I used with newRanma. I'm not going to accept any kind of  
story input. Even if it makes The Clan a worse story, it will  
still be *my* story, and I will have had fun writing it.  
  
I very much hope that all of you who were prereading before won't  
be mad at me for cutting you out of the process like that. With  
newRanma, I've found that I just have more fun when I'm playing a  
solo.  
  
  
------------------------------  
Omake 3  
------------------------------  
  
"When did Charlotte get so dirty?" Azusa demanded. She  
dumped another handful of warm liquid soap on Ryouga's back and  
started to scrub roughly. "Mommy will get you all clean."  
  
"Agghgh! Let me go, you crazy woman!" Ryouga screamed as  
he struggled to get free. Years of ice-skating had given the  
petite girl legs of steel, however. She had her ankles locked  
around Ryouga's waist, and he just couldn't manage to break free.  
  
"Doesn't Charlotte like bathing? The water's all nice and  
warm, just as you like, sweetie!"  
  
"He does like bathing, Anna-oneesan," Yoiko assured her  
from the other side of the bathtub where she was lathering her own  
body with a wash cloth and a bar of soap. "You just have to  
convince him to stay put some more."  
  
"Let Mommy wash your front now," Azusa commanded. "Oh my!  
What did little Azusa-chan find?" she asked in wonder as her hands  
began to work in front of Ryouga.  
  
"YAAAHHH!" Blood began to flow from Ryouga's nostrils as  
the skater's hands worked more and more rapidly under water.  
  
Yoiko giggled. Her Oniichan was so funny!  
  
"What is it? What... Oh, my! Azusa thinks that she will  
call you Jean-martine!" Azusa said to her new discovery.  
  
------------------------------  
  
  
Why the hell didn't Ranma end up with  
Nabiki/Ukyou/Kodachi/Ryouga/Kunou?  
  
Again, this was a fanservice story. Think about it. Ranma got to  
be touchy-feely with just about every character in one way or  
another. It was also a good chance for me to experiment with all  
the things I've wanted to write, like the Ranma/Ryouga lemon  
scene, but never had the balls to do before.  
  
The Ranma/Nabiki and Ranma/Kunou arcs were planned from the very  
beginning with the knowledge that Ranma would end the story more  
or less with Akane. I know that I've horribly disappointed all the  
Ranma/Nabiki fans, but I'd like to thank you for reading anyway.  
  
I will tell you that I had at least one death threat... I won't  
name names... *cough* *cough* if Nabiki broke Taiyoko's heart.  
After receiving said threat, I was sorely tempted to match  
Ranma/Nabiki and Taiyoko/Akane just to see what wrath I would  
incur, but that would have munged up what I wanted to write in the  
first place, which was no good.  
  
Hamlet (and every other Kodachi fan), I know I disappointed you  
leaving Kodachi an unreasonable, loony bitch at the end. I'm  
sorry, but I also had the last scene with Kodachi planned from  
almost the very beginning of the story. newRanma was never  
intended to be a 'fix- all' story. Yes, it has closure, but it's  
also got a 'dirty' end, leaving a lot of shit lying around for the  
characters to clean up. This was always my intent. There's your  
realism if you're still looking for it because that's the way real  
life works.  
  
Why did I make an otherwise interesting story so full of  
meaningless sex?  
  
Short Answer: I'm a pervert. You should avoid me. ^o^  
  
Long Answer: From the very, very beginning, newRanma has been a  
story about sex, which I consider to be a very natural, normal,  
healthy thing. The only scenes without at least some sexual  
tension were those involving the gore of Ranma's surgery or the  
introduction of Ryouga's litter sister, Yoiko.  
  
It's only natural that a story about sex should have many, many  
descriptions of sexual behavior. It's only fitting, at least in my  
opinion, that a story about sex should climax with an explicit sex  
act.  
  
A lot of people have complained that I didn't write the story so  
that you could read it without skipping the lemony sweet chapters.  
To all of you I say 'Nyaa!' Go find a story without all the lemony  
goodness of newRanma. Yeah, yeah, I know minors aren't supposed to  
read that kind of stuff. I'd be willing to bet that each and every  
person under 18 who happened across the explicit scenes in  
newRanma had seen similar scenes before... and had probably seen  
worse in real life. In deference to those who do care if they get  
caught reading something like that, however, I will label the  
chapters as 'lemon' on my web page where they weren't previously.  
  
Why did I include so many original characters, and then why did I  
do so little with them.  
  
Taiyoko and Makuna were the only two original characters I really  
planned to do anything with. Yoiko, Soap, Ayanobu, Tea, Cola,  
Soda, the geologists, and all the others are just scenery. Yoiko  
and Soap got a few extra lines, but they were mostly used as foils  
or running gags.  
  
Makuna was Ranma's 'healthy' example of homosexuality, which I  
intended to include from the very start of the story. Taiyoko was  
Ranma's 'normal' friend with whom he could compare his distinctly  
abnormal life. She started out being an idol signer that Ranma had  
known when he was a little and then met again after his surgery.  
Her stuttering was a remnant of that. She was supposed to be able  
to sing just fine, but have trouble speaking. Then she turned into  
a transfer student to Furinkan High. Then, as more and more of the  
story started locking into place, she became one of Makuna's  
patients, and therefore a lesbian... and eventually Nabiki's  
lover.  
  
I cut an entire chapter about Soap because I lost interest in her.  
It was replaced with the chapter about Ranma and Kasumi going to  
church. For those of you paying attention, that chapter is my one  
and only self-insertion... No, not the perverted priest. The goofy  
guy at the end who talks to Ranma while sweeping the walk.  
  
Yoiko, on the other hand, grew entirely out of a need for a punch  
line to the 'His sense of direction is out in the waiting room'  
joke Tofuu tells when Ryouga's in the hospital. She grew a little  
out of that and once I gave her a poor memory for names, she  
became a running gag... one I couldn't resist revisiting in the  
last chapter.  
  
I didn't do any more with any of these characters... or even Akane  
for that matter... because this is a story about RANMA! --hence  
the title. It's about the way he interacts with all the other  
characters and not about the way they interact with him. But I  
digress...  
  
------------------------------  
Omake 4  
------------------------------  
  
A petite girl stepped up in front of the audience. She had  
long, light-colored hair with two pink streaks. She was also  
standing next to an impossibly huge pig done up in ceremonial  
Sumo-garb.  
  
"Hello," she announced. "My name is Akari Unryuu. On  
behalf of the minor characters of Ranma 1/2, I would like to  
register a complaint against Jones-san for not including more of  
us in 'newRanma'. It's completely unfair that he included new,  
original characters in the story while ignoring the rest of us."  
  
"Akari-san," a beautiful ninja said from the front row of  
the audience called out. "I'm not sure we should be complaining  
about this. It's not really that big a deal, after all."  
  
"Who are you to talk, Konatsu? He made you the star of the  
'Nerima Boys Club'! The last time I got time in one of his  
stories, I got turned into the Ravener Queen. That's not what I  
call quality screen time."  
  
Hiroshi, Daisuke, Yuka, and Sayuri all shrugged. They were  
just happy that all four of them had survived newRanma.  
  
------------------------------  
  
So what's next?  
  
Well, I've got a few things planned, all or none of which may come  
to fruition in time. There's the last chapter of 'Ranma's  
Apartment' to consider, in which Soun has a heart attack and Ranma  
is reunited with the rest of the Nerima crew. There's also a non-  
Ranma 'Pink Lemonade' story I want to write about Nokoru and Suoh  
from CLAMP. Just imagine all the lemony potential in that one!  
Speaking of lemony potential, I've been experimenting with a plot  
for a PWP (oxymoron, I know) Sailor Moon lemon tentatively  
entitled 'Sailor Domination'. I'll let your imaginations fill in  
the rest of that one...  
  
The big project in my future is the planned rewrite of The Clan.  
We'll just have to see how it goes.  
  
------------------------------  
Omake 5  
------------------------------  
  
After some hot, wet yuri nookie behind Furinkan High,  
Ranma and Akane returned to the Tendou Dojo, only to find that all  
of the girls, Ukyou, Kodachi, Shampoo, Nabiki, Taiyoko, Hinako,  
Azusa, Mio, Futaba, Misaki, Tsunami, Pixy Misa, Excel, Makoto  
Kino, Minako Aino, Victoria Cellas, Keyne Aqua, Ifurita, B-ko,  
Lime, Cherry, Bloodberry, Nuku Nuku, and Belldandy, were waiting  
there for them.  
  
"Ranma," Soun demanded. "You must make up your mind. Which  
girl will you marry? Remember, if you choose right, you inherit  
the dojo."  
  
"Choose me, Ranma!" All the girls shouted.  
  
"I choose..." Ranma ripped off her Chinese clothes to  
reveal that she was wearing a complete latex body suit underneath.  
"ALL OF THEM!!!"  
  
She pulled out a super-soaker filled with 'Spring of  
drowned Sex Slave' water and began hosing the assembled throng  
down.  
  
"Oh, Ranma-sama!" all the girls cried. "Make us yours!"  
  
"Gladly, my sweets," Ranma replied as they all began to  
strip out of their clothes or costumes and started to make out in  
one huge lesbian orgy scene.  
  
"And now that we're naked," Akane suggested as she was  
being licked, fondled, rubbed, and sucked, "let's give all our  
panties to--"  
  
*BOOT*  
  
Jones punted the shriveled pervert away from his computer  
and examined the damage to the end of newRanma. He sighed and  
began to delete lines of text as rapidly as he could.  
  
"I knew there was a reason I didn't write Happosai into  
the story," the author said sadly. "Man, he left panties  
everywhere. Ewww... some of these are still sticky..."  
  
------------------------------  
  
Thank you all for reading. Please send e-mail... or fanart *hint*  
*hint* if you like my story.  
  
Until next time....  
  
C. (I finished newRanma? What an amazing thing...)  
  
  
Addendum:  
  
Like I said earlier, when I posted this to the FFML, I started a  
minor flame war about C&C and the proper way to ask for and reply  
to it. Those who emailed me fell into one of two camps.  
  
The first kind of response I received was along the lines of: "You  
go! I'm sorry you won't take plot direction any more, but I  
understand. If that's what you have to do to get your stories out  
the door, then so be it."  
  
The second was more like: "How rude could you be? Why should I  
spend time C&C'ing your story if you're going to ignore me? It's  
insensitive of you to even ask for C&C if you're going to discard  
it. You're just a jerk who wants gratification from people reading  
his stories."  
  
Needless to say, I think I hurt some feelings. I received a lot of  
angry mail from other authors I really like and respected, so let  
me clarify the things I said above.  
  
No, I am not uninterested in C&C. This, the final version of  
newRanma, benefited greatly from C&C I received in the form of  
continuity checking, proofing, cultural details, and other kinds  
of C&C.  
  
By that same token, however, I feel like many of my readers who  
offer C&C feel insulted or hurt if I don't make the changes they  
recommend.  
  
In the case of newRanma, I had many people write me and suggest  
that I change the story so that events could happen a certain way,  
or tell me that I was not writing in an entertaining or believable  
direction. If I were to make these changes, I feel like the story  
would no longer have been what I wanted it to be, so I didn't use  
those suggestions.  
  
You should never feel hurt or insulted because I didn't use a  
piece of C&C or even because I didn't reply to your comment. I  
read everything that comes to me, and even if it doesn't help me,  
it still makes me think more sharply about my story... which  
ultimately makes it a better story.  
  
That said, I'm never going to please everyone. I'm not going to  
try, because that's an impossible task.  
  
Thanks to everyone who sent in C&C for newRanma, wether I used it  
or not!  
  
Again... C. 


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